The Simple Truth
by Skylar Tsukiyo
Summary: Hermione finds herself in a situation where Draco Malfoy lives across the hall, and he wants something from her that she isn't sure she can give. How she's going to handle this and all the other things going on with her friends? She doesn't know, but she would love to find out. Smut, EWE. Set after the final battle in August. Don't like DRAMIONE? Don't read it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The tension between them grew thicker with each second. Shock and disbelief were evident in her eyes, her face was as still as stone. She wanted more than ever to give him an answer. No, she wanted him to get up and stop looking at her with so much hope. The longer he stayed down there on his one knee, the guiltier she felt for what was about to happen to him. She should have known better than to agree to let him come here alone. It was so obvious what was coming and she'd been warned by his behavior. Only one sentence flowed consistently throughout her mind: _He cannot be serious._

This was probably one of the worst moments in her entire romantic lifetime. The very instant he pulled the violet box encrusted with a green vine design was the moment she heard his fragile heart break. She knew better than this. She knew at that moment she was going to break his heart today. Never before in her life had she been made to be the villain. The agony she felt when thinking of their friends and his family, well it crushed her to even look at him. There'd be no more Weasley Sunday dinners after this night. She'd never be welcome in their home again. A small tear escaped her eye as she thought of the laughter filled memories while in the good company of her loved ones — his loved ones.

_They'll push me out as an outcast._

It was all too much. Her heart wrenched with sorrow. Before she could stop it, a light cough left her throat and it pushed him to speak. She wasn't ready for him to start the spiel.

"Before you say anything," he started with a misplaced grin. "I want you to know how happy you make me."

_Here he goes… Please stop talking_, she thought. _You're only going to make this harder for me._

"I know I don't always show it 'Mione but I love you and," he cleared his throat and blushed. "You're the only one for me. I know we argue plenty but I'm willing to make up for it and try to please you however I can. However often I mess up, I'll be there for you tenfold. I want a build a family with you, I want to buy a house with you and spend all day just being with you, 'Mione." He asked her again for the second time in a minute, "so marry me?"

_There he goes asking me again. Can't he tell by my silence that I mean to say no? Can't he let me grieve my loss of all I have in peace? No more Sunday dinners, no more Harry and Ginny or the twins or any other Weasleys! They'll all take his side and I'll have nothing and no one to comfort me…_

"Uh… 'Mione? Are you…"

_Please just stop._ "Stop calling me that."

"What?" He said quizzically.

"Stop calling me that horrendous nickname! You know how much I hate it." She paused to regain the strength she needed to do this. "My name is Hermione. So unless you meant to propose to some other girl in the room — well, you can't have been talking to me. How can you say all those things to me? How can you even think I'd want something like that with you?" _Might as well make him hate me right off the bat…_

He stood up quicker than she saw and immediately began to defend himself. "What's that? Is marrying me such an awful idea? Think you're too good for me now, do you? After all we've been through and all these years we've been together?"

Her dry chuckle set him back off his rant and set fear through his bloodstream. "The years we've spent together Ronald?" _Oh, you're in for it now, you pompous git_. "We've been dating for less than a month. All the speculation of our relationship in The Daily Prophet is the extent of what we've spent together. A last minute kiss was all we shared and that was just because my emotions got the better of me! We were in the middle of battle, it was hardly anything noteworthy and it was the only thing since then that constituted the illusion of what I used to feel for you." This proposal woke her up. She paused but he was probably too scared to say anything back to her. Her tone was nothing short of malicious. He could feel the contempt she felt from across the room.

"I spent the majority of our time at Hogwarts begging you to notice me. It took you even longer to have you consider me a friend. One kiss and suddenly you have to gall to propose? Just who do you think you are? You know how many nights I cried for you? You made me sadder than Draco Malfoy ever did. At least I know his threats and words were empty backdrop of what he felt for his father. What's your excuse for how mean you were? Or better yet, what was your badly placed jealousy about? Which, by the way, pretty much ruined any chance I had at being happy with someone else. But you already know that don't you? The only time you made me feel welcome amongst you and Harry was when I was helping you do your homework. Even that you left me to do by myself." She couldn't stop herself now. It was too much knowing she had all this power and not using it. "From day one you made me feel like an outcast only to take advantage of me when you made a mess and you needed me to clean it up. I'm not stupid, Ron. So tell me why I should marry you?"

Scoffing harshly, he closed the box and shoved it in his pocket. The wind from his quick departure slapped her in the face. Before he could slam the door to her flat he looked her dead in the eye and scoffed again. "You're right," he said in a raspy whisper. "We were never meant to be together and it was only because of Harry that we were barely friends. I won't bother you again."

The breeze from the door shutting hit her again and she fell back onto the couch in her living room. Oh. That was much easier than I thought it would be. She gripped the throw pillows beside her and lowered her head. The tears let themselves out and she didn't stop them.

Years of pent up aggression from his idiocy caused her to blow up like that. She had meant to let him down easy but couldn't hold back after all the sewage that came from his mouth. In truth she'd been jealous of his simplicity. He didn't have to think about the consequences of his actions until much later.

_How I envy him so._

It had been easy to hate him when he'd cornered her into a proposal like that. _One lie on top of another… he'll be back, no matter what he says, he'll be back to bother me again._

She wiped the last of her tears and sluggishly made her way to the bedroom. Without shedding any clothes or even getting under the sheets, she drifted away into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The dreaded knock graced her door much sooner than she'd expected. It was the kind of knock that signaled they wouldn't go away until they could be heard out. She knew that much after knowing them for so long. Saying goodbye was going to hurt so much more than she could have imagined. Her eyes opened slightly and she peaked over at her watch on the side table. _8:19, probably broke the news to them at breakfast. Stupid… Couldn't I at least get until lunch to prepare?_

It was Saturday morning and she wouldn't even be expected until the next day. It would have been kind of him to give her until then before sending over someone else to fight his battle. She pulled her messy hair into a messier bun and cautiously made her way to the front door. They knocked again.

She looked through the peep hole and her eyes widened. It was Harry. _Only Harry?_

He was alone and resting his head on her door. He alarmed her with his voice.

"I know you're in there. Please, Hermione just hear me out?"

There it was. She knew this was coming to her. She opened the door and looked down, daring him to make her look at him. He made his way inside and allowed her to shut the door before running his hand through his hair and sighing at her. _At least yell at me with disgust… anything but a concerned sigh._

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She shook her head and pushed a stray line of hair out of her face. "I'm sure he told you perfectly accurately what happened between us. There's nothing left to say." Her voice came out quieter than she'd wanted and it didn't sound convincing at all.

"You really expect me to believe that?" He kept calm and took her by the shoulders, led her over by the couch and sat her down. "Hermione, look at me please?"

Shaking her head no was probably the first mistake she made that morning. He took her in his embrace and begged her to respond. She did nothing but squeak in surprise.

"Is that really how you feel about him and me? Do you think I'm going to pick sides in a mess like this?" His voice vibrated on her shoulder and she closed her eyes tight fighting the desire to hug him back. "Have I ever chosen sides before?"

She couldn't resist answering this one. "I'm sure you never meant to, but you did so without meaning to plenty of times before. You took his side by never taking mine."

He pulled away and caught her eye.

"Is that what you think? We're friends Hermione. I never intentionally chose a side. How could I ever get in between the two of you? I had no idea what was going on half the time." Finally he'd managed to make her laugh, it was just a little chuckle but it was progress.

He helped her wipe her new found tears and asked her again. "What happened?"

She sighed wishing he could just take her first answer. The last thing she wanted was to talk about this. "He proposed to me… and I ruined our friendship instead of just saying no."

She seemed to be finished but he waited for more but he took her hand and pushed her to go on.

"I... I told him I didn't want to be with him and in the meanest way possible."

He wanted to let go but he knew he had to be strong for her. There was no way things would be fixed if he gave up on her now. "Why?"

His tone made her shudder and remember everything she'd said all over. Like forcing herself to say it a first time wasn't enough, explaining it to a bystander was a thousand times worse. "What does it matter, Harry? It's over. We're over."

"That matters plenty to me!" He'd played babysitter long enough. "Don't you still want to be his friend?"

"Of course I do! You know I do! He was going to hate me any way I told him, no matter how nice or cruel I sounded! It was going to hurt him and involve everyone else just like it always does!" She took her head in her hands and began to cry again. "I thought I was going to lose you all: Ginny, Fred, George, you, Mrs. Weasley… Oh especially Mrs. Weasley! She's been hinting at an engagement for one of us since we all got settled after summer started. You and Ginny never got back together so she's been looking at me with these knowing eyes and I just knew they'd been talking about it. There's no way he picked out that box and ring by himself, I just know it!" Her tears began to fall that much faster and he pulled her close. "Oh, Harry, I didn't want to be alone and I don't want to be with him. I just knew he was going to blacken my name at that house one way or another so I didn't think it mattered how I broke his heart. He's never going to forgive me!"

He sighed and took her head into his chest. He laughed a little at how much of an over thinker she was. His words to her were soft now. "It isn't fair of you to make such a huge assumption about the Weasleys and me. You're family Hermione; you're like a sister to me. How could I just stop being friends with you after seven years because you didn't settle for something you didn't want? You've never been that person, Hermione. I don't expect you to start giving in now." He spoke soft because she was so close to him, in an effort to calm her down. It worked in a way. She wasn't shouting anymore.

She mumbled into his chest, her words somewhat muffled. "But Harry you know the rest of them will be sore with me about letting him down so harshly."

This time he laughed out loud. "No, I don't think so."

"Why's that? And what's so funny?"

"Well for starters, Ron's way too proud to let other people know how much you embarrassed him. He couldn't even tell me directly, he just showed me his memory of it. Second, Mrs. Weasley might be miffed for a little bit but only because he's lied about having asked you at all. He said at breakfast you two weren't there yet and it's his business if you do it at all. You probably didn't do anything but wake him up, Hermione. Everyone knows how mismatched you two were. Even Mrs. Weasley sees it, she just ignores it because we're all close already and who better to start a family with than your best friend?"

She sniffled and thought about what he said. He might be exaggerating a little about things but he's right. Molly's desperate for grandchildren since Bill and Fleur's wedding and no one else has someone besides them. "Harry, I could never marry you." She said this quite seriously but he laughed nonetheless.

"I know, and it's all right." He smiled at her. "He'll be sour because of how blunt you were but I doubt he'll bring the Calvary over to hang you for rejecting him."

She bit her lip and sighed. "I really hope you're right, Harry."

"I promise you the worst thing you did was comparing him to Malfoy. He won't forget that so easily."

The rest of the morning was more uneventful than Hermione would have liked. She'd already finished working on her proposal due at work on Monday and Harry had insisted that she still come over for dinner on Sunday. He'd promised her no one would know what was wrong with Ron. "He's always in a foul mood. They're used to it, I'm sure." She'd agreed to go and she'd tell at least Ginny what happened. Ginny would tell the twins and they'd all tease him about it in secret until they found something else to tease him over. He left her alone with her thoughts after she swore she'd still be there.

_I'm not going to regret what I said. I'm only going to regret how I said it._

In his haste to leave she'd very quickly forgotten to ask him why he and the youngest Weasley got back together. After all these months they were all just pretending as if the union had never formed to begin with. Ginny never said a word about it either. It might have been obvious but the two never seemed to be in the same room simultaneously anymore. She didn't want to ask about her friend's relationship affairs in front of any of her brothers but it seemed like Ginny was always making sure that they were always chaperoned by at least one Weasley. If it came down to it she would just have to embarrass the girl.

She dropped her thought stream and remembered what Harry had said to her._ I did compare him to Malfoy didn't I? I don't even remember wanting to say that to him after all this time. Now that I think of it, that's probably what hurt him the most about all this proposal/rejection mess. I live across the hall from him after all. Ronald's always perceived him as a threat._

Since the war's end and Lucius Malfoy's death in Azkaban, Draco had moved out of the Manor and left his mother and her wishes for him to marry a young socialite there with her. It seems the younger Malfoy had no intentions of pleasing his parents any more after being acquitted by the Wizengamot. Harry and Hermione's words had let him off the hook.

_But what does he do all day after working? He has no need to work now, does he? The Malfoys have been rich for centuries._

She knew he left the apartment across the hall at least once a day. He left just before she did and came home right after she did. If she didn't know any better she'd say he was following her but she knew that was nonsense.

_Maybe he's been cut off and needs the funds… Wait a minute. Why am I wasting time thinking about Malfoy? I should be doing something else, something way more meaningful with my day._

She took a hot bath and dressed in casual blue jeans with a camisole and shawl on top. Robes were a thing of the past for her since she left school. They were less than flattering. She'd missed dressing in muggle clothing every day and enjoyed the looks she got when walking down the streets in Magic London. She flooed to The Leaky Cauldron and gave a wave to Tom before exiting and walking to the nearest train stop. Visiting her parents seemed like a good thing to do now. Her mother always knew just what to say.

* * *

Harry returned to the Burrow with relief. He hadn't been able to believe the things that came from his best friend's memory. He thought that Ron had altered it subconsciously and couldn't wait to find out the truth. It only made sense for Hermione to want to break things herself before someone else did. He chuckled at the thought her Hermione having such a major meltdown over what was nothing but an awkward moment.

Anyone with eyes could tell that she and Ron were not meant to be. However it was hard not to succumb to the pressure that was Molly Weasley with her children's futures. She and Ron argued for a solid month on whether the boys should return to Hogwarts to repeat their last year. Molly probably thought that engaging the two would make Ron want to follow Hermione back to school. Or that Hermione could persuade him, as his fiancée, to do what she couldn't. It was all madness really.

He saw the boys starting a game of quidditch and figured he'd join in late. As he entered the broom shed he immediately regretted it. Ginny Weasley was picking up her broom off the ground just in front of him. She turned around and blushed at him. It was a blush he hadn't seen from her in a long while.

"Sorry I'll just get out of your way," he said as he scooted past the doorway.

She handed him his broom and rushed out into the field. He swore he heard her mumble something along the lines of "I'm sorry, again," but didn't think twice about asking her about it.

It had taken them a long time for him to get her to even speak to him again. Maybe things could go back to normal with a nice afternoon game.

Chapter Two

The dreaded knock graced her door much sooner than she'd expected. It was the kind of knock that signaled they wouldn't go away until they could be heard out. She knew that much after knowing them for so long. Saying goodbye was going to hurt so much more than she could have imagined. Her eyes opened slightly and she peaked over at her watch on the side table. _8:19, probably broke the news to them at breakfast. Stupid… Couldn't I at least get until lunch to prepare?_

It was Saturday morning and she wouldn't even be expected until the next day. It would have been kind of him to give her until then before sending over someone else to fight his battle. She pulled her messy hair into a messier bun and cautiously made her way to the front door. They knocked again.

She looked through the peep hole and her eyes widened. It was Harry. _Only Harry?_

He was alone and resting his head on her door. He alarmed her with his voice.

"I know you're in there. Please, Hermione just hear me out?"

There it was. She knew this was coming to her. She opened the door and looked down, daring him to make her look at him. He made his way inside and allowed her to shut the door before running his hand through his hair and sighing at her. _At least yell at me with disgust… anything but a concerned sigh._

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She shook her head and pushed a stray line of hair out of her face. "I'm sure he told you perfectly accurately what happened between us. There's nothing left to say." Her voice came out quieter than she'd wanted and it didn't sound convincing at all.

"You really expect me to believe that?" He kept calm and took her by the shoulders, led her over by the couch and sat her down. "Hermione, look at me please?"

Shaking her head no was probably the first mistake she made that morning. He took her in his embrace and begged her to respond. She did nothing but squeak in surprise.

"Is that really how you feel about him and me? Do you think I'm going to pick sides in a mess like this?" His voice vibrated on her shoulder and she closed her eyes tight fighting the desire to hug him back. "Have I ever chosen sides before?"

She couldn't resist answering this one. "I'm sure you never meant to, but you did so without meaning to plenty of times before. You took his side by never taking mine."

He pulled away and caught her eye.

"Is that what you think? We're friends Hermione. I never intentionally chose a side. How could I ever get in between the two of you? I had no idea what was going on half the time." Finally he'd managed to make her laugh, it was just a little chuckle but it was progress.

He helped her wipe her new found tears and asked her again. "What happened?"

She sighed wishing he could just take her first answer. The last thing she wanted was to talk about this. "He proposed to me… and I ruined our friendship instead of just saying no."

She seemed to be finished but he waited for more but he took her hand and pushed her to go on.

"I... I told him I didn't want to be with him and in the meanest way possible."

He wanted to let go but he knew he had to be strong for her. There was no way things would be fixed if he gave up on her now. "Why?"

His tone made her shudder and remember everything she'd said all over. Like forcing herself to say it a first time wasn't enough, explaining it to a bystander was a thousand times worse. "What does it matter, Harry? It's over. We're over."

"That matters plenty to me!" He'd played babysitter long enough. "Don't you still want to be his friend?"

"Of course I do! You know I do! He was going to hate me any way I told him, no matter how nice or cruel I sounded! It was going to hurt him and involve everyone else just like it always does!" She took her head in her hands and began to cry again. "I thought I was going to lose you all: Ginny, Fred, George, you, Mrs. Weasley… Oh especially Mrs. Weasley! She's been hinting at an engagement for one of us since we all got settled after summer started. You and Ginny never got back together so she's been looking at me with these knowing eyes and I just knew they'd been talking about it. There's no way he picked out that box and ring by himself, I just know it!" Her tears began to fall that much faster and he pulled her close. "Oh, Harry, I didn't want to be alone and I don't want to be with him. I just knew he was going to blacken my name at that house one way or another so I didn't think it mattered how I broke his heart. He's never going to forgive me!"

He sighed and took her head into his chest. He laughed a little at how much of an over thinker she was. His words to her were soft now. "It isn't fair of you to make such a huge assumption about the Weasleys and me. You're family Hermione; you're like a sister to me. How could I just stop being friends with you after seven years because you didn't settle for something you didn't want? You've never been that person, Hermione. I don't expect you to start giving in now." He spoke soft because she was so close to him, in an effort to calm her down. It worked in a way. She wasn't shouting anymore.

She mumbled into his chest, her words somewhat muffled. "But Harry you know the rest of them will be sore with me about letting him down so harshly."

This time he laughed out loud. "No, I don't think so."

"Why's that? And what's so funny?"

"Well for starters, Ron's way too proud to let other people know how much you embarrassed him. He couldn't even tell me directly, he just showed me his memory of it. Second, Mrs. Weasley might be miffed for a little bit but only because he's lied about having asked you at all. He said at breakfast you two weren't there yet and it's his business if you do it at all. You probably didn't do anything but wake him up, Hermione. Everyone knows how mismatched you two were. Even Mrs. Weasley sees it, she just ignores it because we're all close already and who better to start a family with than your best friend?"

She sniffled and thought about what he said. He might be exaggerating a little about things but he's right. Molly's desperate for grandchildren since Bill and Fleur's wedding and no one else has someone besides them. "Harry, I could never marry you." She said this quite seriously but he laughed nonetheless.

"I know, and it's all right." He smiled at her. "He'll be sour because of how blunt you were but I doubt he'll bring the Calvary over to hang you for rejecting him."

She bit her lip and sighed. "I really hope you're right, Harry."

"I promise you the worst thing you did was comparing him to Malfoy. He won't forget that so easily."

The rest of the morning was more uneventful than Hermione would have liked. She'd already finished working on her proposal due at work on Monday and Harry had insisted that she still come over for dinner on Sunday. He'd promised her no one would know what was wrong with Ron. "He's always in a foul mood. They're used to it, I'm sure." She'd agreed to go and she'd tell at least Ginny what happened. Ginny would tell the twins and they'd all tease him about it in secret until they found something else to tease him over. He left her alone with her thoughts after she swore she'd still be there.

_I'm not going to regret what I said. I'm only going to regret how I said it._

In his haste to leave she'd very quickly forgotten to ask him why he and the youngest Weasley got back together. After all these months they were all just pretending as if the union had never formed to begin with. Ginny never said a word about it either. It might have been obvious but the two never seemed to be in the same room simultaneously anymore. She didn't want to ask about her friend's relationship affairs in front of any of her brothers but it seemed like Ginny was always making sure that they were always chaperoned by at least one Weasley. If it came down to it she would just have to embarrass the girl.

She dropped her thought stream and remembered what Harry had said to her._ I did compare him to Malfoy didn't I? I don't even remember wanting to say that to him after all this time. Now that I think of it, that's probably what hurt him the most about all this proposal/rejection mess. I live across the hall from him after all. Ronald's always perceived him as a threat._

Since the war's end and Lucius Malfoy's death in Azkaban, Draco had moved out of the Manor and left his mother and her wishes for him to marry a young socialite there with her. It seems the younger Malfoy had no intentions of pleasing his parents any more after being acquitted by the Wizengamot. Harry and Hermione's words had let him off the hook.

_But what does he do all day after working? He has no need to work now, does he? The Malfoys have been rich for centuries._

She knew he left the apartment across the hall at least once a day. He left just before she did and came home right after she did. If she didn't know any better she'd say he was following her but she knew that was nonsense.

_Maybe he's been cut off and needs the funds… Wait a minute. Why am I wasting time thinking about Malfoy? I should be doing something else, something way more meaningful with my day._

She took a hot bath and dressed in casual blue jeans with a camisole and shawl on top. Robes were a thing of the past for her since she left school. They were less than flattering. She'd missed dressing in muggle clothing every day and enjoyed the looks she got when walking down the streets in Magic London. She flooed to The Leaky Cauldron and gave a wave to Tom before exiting and walking to the nearest train stop. Visiting her parents seemed like a good thing to do now. Her mother always knew just what to say.

* * *

Harry returned to the Burrow with relief. He hadn't been able to believe the things that came from his best friend's memory. He thought that Ron had altered it subconsciously and couldn't wait to find out the truth. It only made sense for Hermione to want to break things herself before someone else did. He chuckled at the thought her Hermione having such a major meltdown over what was nothing but an awkward moment.

Anyone with eyes could tell that she and Ron were not meant to be. However it was hard not to succumb to the pressure that was Molly Weasley with her children's futures. She and Ron argued for a solid month on whether the boys should return to Hogwarts to repeat their last year. Molly probably thought that engaging the two would make Ron want to follow Hermione back to school. Or that Hermione could persuade him, as his fiancée, to do what she couldn't. It was all madness really.

He saw the boys starting a game of quidditch and figured he'd join in late. As he entered the broom shed he immediately regretted it. Ginny Weasley was picking up her broom off the ground just in front of him. She turned around and blushed at him. It was a blush he hadn't seen from her in a long while.

"Sorry I'll just get out of your way," he said as he scooted past the doorway.

She handed him his broom and rushed out into the field. He swore he heard her mumble something along the lines of "I'm sorry, again," but didn't think twice about asking her about it.

It had taken them a long time to speak to each other again. Maybe things could go back to normal with a nice afternoon game.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Mrs. Granger sat at the kitchen table with her daughter sipping freshly made tea with a dash of sugar and a lemon squeeze. She eyed her daughter suspiciously after several long moments without a word. This was more than unusual. Hermione almost always had something to say, something to comment on, something to correct. After all these years she grew to enjoy hearing her daughter's anecdotes about her strange friends and facts about her world. The smile these topics brought could not be duplicated.

On a plain day, Hermione would call and announce her intent to visit. Today she came over and caught her mother and father completely by surprise. They hadn't had anything planned but besides the fact that their daughter was a witch, she stayed on routine and was fairly ordinary. There was no smile to speak of today; there was only a sigh and an occasional mutter.

Mr. Granger, at the arrival of his daughter, gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, told her to "stay perk, love" something he always did, and retreated to the den where he could finish watching the Saturday game. He knew better than to pry into his daughter's love life and based on the look she held when he opened the door, he knew it could be nothing else but trouble from a guy.

Every now and then Hermione could hear her father cheer for his team and shout at the referee from the den. It was more nostalgic than anything. Her father was not a very athletic man but he rather liked watching friendly competition every now and again. She laughed on the inside and suppressed a smile, then looked up at her mother who was waiting patiently for an explanation.

"Is there something you'd like to say Hermione?" Mrs. Granger added another squeeze of a lemon half to her tea and sipped politely. She knew it was only a matter of time before she spoke up. "You've been awfully quiet."

"Well…," _Why has talking been so hard these last few days?_ "I wanted to ask if, – I wanted to know rather, how you knew Dad was the man you would marry and settle down with."

Her mother's eyebrows rose for a split second then went back down. "Oh?" she put down her tea cup and held the side of her face with one hand, elbow on the table. "And what would make you wonder that?"

"He proposed to me last night, mum. He preached how we were meant to be and…" she began to tear up. She felt so bad. She hadn't cried in front of her mother in a very long time.

"Oh, darling, it can't have been so bad? When a man asks you for your hand, he usually has a reason for doing so, even if that reason is dead off. Did you accept his proposal?"

She shook her head no and wiped her eyes. "I shot him down and made him feel awful about himself and awful about me. I said things to him in the heat of the moment that I would never say otherwise. Ron has always been hot tempered but it was my fault this time. I intentionally made him angry because I thought he would drag my name through the mud with our friends and his family."

Mrs. Granger handed Hermione a chocolate toffee and sighed. "Honestly, Hermione. Did he drag your name through the mud?"

"Well no, but –"

"Hermione, I wouldn't worry about it. He's a big boy and he can take care of himself. He's going to remember all your reasons for telling him no and come back happier for it. Don't let him take away your beautiful smile, dear."

In the den, her father could be heard mumbling something about being too young to get engaged anyway. This brought out a small smile that just barely reached her eyes and she nodded in conclusion. "You're right, I know you are. Harry just as much told me the same thing. I'm only terrified to be around him now; I have no idea what to say to him. I still have to go over there for dinner tomorrow and act like nothing happened." _Acting like nothing happened… sounds like Harry and Ginny. Wait a minute…_ Her sudden revelation caused her to lift up from her seat. She rushed to hug her mom and dad and insisted she'd see them again soon.

* * *

An hour later, Ginny Weasley received a very cryptic message from Hermione, stating how very important it was that they talk tomorrow before dinner. The red head felt her gut sink. She'd managed to get this far without having to talk about it with anyone. Harry was a sour subject for her as far as any of the Weasleys were concerned: No one mentioned their break up and let them ignore each other. Still, Ginny could feel their desire for the two to make up. She wasn't sure if it would be any less awkward even if they did get back together. _Wait, would it?_ _No. No, it doesn't matter now. I've made up my mind. I'm happier where I am._

It still hurt her to see him around but there was only one more month until she returned to Hogwarts to redo her sixth year and then she'd never have to see him again. He was supposed to be going into Auror training and then right into open field employment for the Auror's office at the Ministry. At least, that's what he said he'd wanted back when they were an item. _It would do me wonders if he didn't change his mind._

Hearing his name wasn't so bad. She could easily tune out any conversation with his name in it after a few months of ignoring his existence. It was selfish of her to think she was the only one in pain. _Especially after all that's happened._ But it did her good to imagine a Harry-free future, even though the majority of her younger years had her dreaming of becoming the future Mrs. Potter.

"Dreams can always change for the better." It was something she told herself every morning. The best part was that she was starting to believe it.

She'd made a mistake agreeing to play quidditch with the boys yesterday. It was only obvious that they would have invited him to play as well. Since the start of the holidays she'd been cooped up in her room or hanging out at Hermione's flat, sometimes spending the night. Hermione's work days were short because she was only an assistant and she didn't mind Ginny being there without her. Ginny was sure that would change if she didn't explain her Harry situation "in full detail," as the letter said. The problem wasn't telling someone. The problem was admitting it had happened at all. If she ignored him and ignored her memories she never had to relive it. She never had to see the pained expression on his face if he was invisible to her. Ginny had disregarding him down to a science. It wasn't fair that Hermione should want to know so long after the event in question. It was moments like these that she considered cutting everyone off and staying at Luna's all summer long, never completely returning to the Burrow. Of course her mother would never allow that. Luckily her mother only had one year left to tell her what to do. After that she would be completely free.

* * *

Harry didn't think Hermione would go back on her word. She had promised to come for dinner and his friend was never one for breaking promises. Just to be sure of this, however, he resolved to stop by her apartment and drag her back no matter what. He apparated to her doorway and knocked twice. He really wished she would take off her apparation wards for at least her friends but he couldn't really blame her for being careful. He didn't like being in her building's hallway after finding out that Malfoy lived right across the hall from her.

He knocked again after a few minutes. "Damn it, Hermione." He tried the jiggling the knob and found that the door flew right open. Something wasn't right. Hermione was never the one to leave her door unlocked. "Hermione?" he ventured through her place slowly and kept his wand ready. Her kitchen and living area were empty. His hand found its way to her room doorknob and twisted it open before he was mentally ready to. The sight he saw was one of the most splendidly shocking things he'd ever seen.

Her scream brought him out of his involuntary fantasy. "Bloody hell, Harry, Get out!"

Clad in nothing but a very small white towel wrapped around her midsection. Her arms were up and her hands were in her hair before he'd interrupted her and there was no doubt in his mind that she was trying something new with it. He wasted no time in gathering as many details as he could before leaving her room seemingly dumbstruck. Her legs were so bloody long, they looked smooth and hairless and before he could stop himself he thought of what it might have been like to touch them. He swore on his life he'd seen the tip of her cleavage. _No wait, this is Hermione you're thinking about here, mate._ Regardless of what he told himself he couldn't stop the bulge from growing in his pants. He'd walked in on something no man had ever seen before. He would treasure it for as long as he could.

She came out in a loose strapless summer dress but he could only see in that white towel. What came out of his mouth next he couldn't remember. The next couple of minutes were very fuzzy. He tuned back in after hearing her call his name a few times.

"Don't you have something to say?" Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot.

"I'm… sorry Hermione, I thought something was wrong after you didn't answer the door and I didn't… Honestly, I'm so…" _I can't even properly be sorry after seeing that.  
_

"I was getting out of the shower! I didn't think dinner would all of a sudden start early this week." She looked at the clock on the oven. "Honestly Harry, it's just after four!"

"I didn't want you to go back on your word. I wanted to make sure you came and I didn't think an owl would make it here and back before five o'clock…" he was looking down the entire time they spoke. If he looked at her directly, he was sure she'd slap him for the look on his face.

Hermione turned on her heel and crossed her arms. "Look, just forget this ever happened okay?"

"Whatever you say," _No chance in hell am I going to forget that so easily._ "So are you ready to go now?"

Hermione scoffed and returned to her room. They weren't due for dinner officially until five. Why he was rushing was beyond her. She towel-dried her wet hair and went through it with a fine toothed comb. Its bushiness was a thing of the past.

In the living room, a sketchy smile was plastered on Harry's face, and he was sure it would stay there until he saw Ginny at the Burrow, tactfully averting any eye contact. He sighed at the thought before pushing it away. _That was painfully amusing but... bloody hell, why me?_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Side-along apparition didn't agree with either of them so they left Hermione's apartment building separately. Harry left first; still unable to make eye contact with her as the image of her near nudity was all he could see. Hermione stayed to make sure all her lights were shut off and that the place was properly clean. With a flick and a few swishes of her wand, she accomplished her desires nonverbally. She re-warded her door, added a few protection charms that she'd been working on and forgot to tell Harry or Ron about, and then shut it firmly.

When she turned around to take the stairs she moved without really looking, and was forced to collide head on into a surprisingly warm figure. Upon closer examination she realized she'd come too close to Malfoy than her comfort zone would allow. The collision had knocked her over and pushed him against the wall. _Merlin's pants, what is wrong with me these days?_

She stammered with her words for a second and found that she had nothing to say.

He blinked at her, clearly waiting for her to collect herself. The amusement on his face was evident. _Hermione Granger at a loss for words…_ "Who would have thought?" he said, not bothering to hide his pleasure. His hand was held out.

Hermione looked at his hand and back up at his face. "Who would have thought what?" _Is he serious right now?_ "You're enjoying this?" She took his hand and eyed him suspiciously; trying to remember the last time they actually spoke to one another. It had to have been months. She remembered seeing him around the Ministry every now and then but she wasn't sure what it was he did. He could be her boss for all she knew. She ended her reverie and noticed she was still eyeing him. Well she was really more like staring him in the face, in his eyes. _Whoa... How long have they been that color?_

Draco cleared his throat and ignored her question. It had been several seconds since he'd helped her up. He hadn't expected her to actually take his hand. They weren't really enemies anymore but they weren't exactly friendly and neighbor-like either. "As much as I enjoy you gazing into my eyes I have to get into my flat. So could I have my hand back, please?"

_What is he talking about?_ _Oh, I still have his hand!_ "I still have your hand," she voiced this aloud, snatching her hand away and blushing furiously. It came out as a near whisper. She had meant to shout it, or she realized how little control she had over the statement leaving her mind at all. His chuckle brought her back to the situation at hand and before she could open her mouth to say something snappy to him she heard a loud crack from apparition and Harry calling to her from the lobby.

"Are you ready to leave now Hermione? You should really be on your way now, don't be nervous."

Her exhale came out more like a deep rough sigh and she hurried down the steps.

Draco watched her walk away and made a mental note to keep a close eye on her.

* * *

His apartment always felt cold. He didn't really mind it as the August heat was unforgiving for the meantime, but it was curious. It wasn't the same kind of cold the Manor held. This coldness came from the simultaneous emptiness and associated loneliness. For a split second he wondered what it would be like if he had stayed at home. It was a wonder if he could even call the Manor his home. He'd never put the two words in a sentence before and it didn't hold the quaint familial feeling of a home. It was just a too-large, dark, nearly gothic, small mansion.

Since he left in June his mother had been begging for him to comeback in her letters with not so subtle guilt trips. It wasn't his fault that the paintings of their ancestors wouldn't shut up. She could move out if she really hated it there but that wasn't the point she was trying to prove. She wanted him to come "home" and assume the position as head of the Malfoy household.

"What a waste," he said to no one in particular. The eagle owl perched on a stick in his cage hooted for an explanation and was rewarded with mouse treats. Draco wasn't even sure what his father did while he was alive. He was a Hogwarts Governor but only from Draco's first year through the return of Voldemort. The only reason he'd gotten the position was to make sure Draco would have a proper education; to bring some power to the table. As far as he was concerned he didn't need the job he had, and he didn't need to rejoin elite society and marry an obedient shrew with no opinion. That's what his mother meant by becoming the head of the household. Besides, he was happy where he was. It wasn't fair of his mother to claim loneliness in every letter assuming that would get him to come back. _I get lonely too, mother._

His job was simpler than what she wanted of him. He was the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation which meant until someone in another country was angry with Britain's Ministry, he had very much of nothing to do at all. He only oversaw what other people did, made sure they did it right and if they didn't do it right, he'd find someone to yell at them and then get someone else to do the job. It was all too easy. Getting married and having an heir was the opposite of easy. He'd never admit it out loud but his parent's marriage wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be undeniably in love and it wanted it to be obvious to anyone who knew it. There were times when Draco was unsure of his parents' feelings for each other but he never dared to ask. It wasn't his business and he didn't care that much. Even if they didn't love each other they were both too proud to cheat, and finding comfort in another was out of the question. The absurdity of a Malfoy stepping out was laughable. It was even more laughable that they'd get caught.

His mind was relentless with images of his neighbor now. He'd heard the argument the other night and wondered what the girl had been storing all that fire power. No way that Weasel could ever make her happy, even he knew that. But she was never one to openly insult someone out of the blue. He remembered hearing his name and actually smiled. _She stared at me._

That meant she was intrigued, or at least that he was on her mind too. She thought about him sometimes, he could tell by her blush and the way she forgot to not stare. It was cute. Well, it certainly wasn't un-cute. He wouldn't mind watching her blush again. _Ah, damn it… I find her attractive._

* * *

They stood outside the front door of the Burrow. It was taller than she remembered from the week before. With everything that happened, it felt like ages had passed since she'd been there. Harry stood by her side and held her hand while whispering words of encouragement.

She could do this. _I know I can do it, that doesn't mean I should. _Everything was going to be fine, just act natural. _How can I possibly act natural when I've all but slapped my best friend in the face? _He hasn't told anyone so you've got nothing to worry about. Hermione sighed with resentment. _If I go in, will that shut you up?_

She took a step forward and Harry gently released her hand. The door to the Burrow burst open causing Hermione to jump back and Harry to step over to the side. The Weasley twins ran out into the field narrowly avoiding the two visitors and their mother's wooden spoon. It all happened much to fast after that: Harry hugged Molly and Hermione received one not long after, they were ushered through the door and warned about falling for anything the twins told them, then Harry was in the den playing exploding snap with Ron and Charlie, who was home for the end of the summer holidays.

Hermione was left on her own, standing in the kitchen watching Molly shear carrots into strips for dinner and before she knew it she was helping her.

"You always were such a good helper, dear. I don't know anyone that can make the carrot strips the way Ron likes them besides you and I."

Hermione sighed to herself. _Here come the "you two should tie the knot" hints. Right, because I cook just like you do. Well that's solely because you're the one that taught me how to cook._ "Yes, well I've had lots of practice with you." She couldn't bring herself to contradict the older woman. It was too much to bear, having Mrs. Weasley angry at you. "Would you happen to know where Ginny is?"

"Oh," Molly stopped what she was doing and shrugged. "That girl has been sulking in her room for just about the entire summer. I don't know what's gotten into her. And when I try to ask her about the… situation between her and Harry she just grouches at me and says she's going to Neville Longbottom's house in the city. You know he just moved out from his grandmother's and she says he's been feeling lonely so she just goes over there to keep him company. But I think something might be going on between the two. It just breaks my heart what happened between those two kids. I thought Harry was only moments before asking her to go steady again and they've been avoiding each other still after all this time." She took a deep breath and resumed her culinary duties. "You should go up there and see if you can't spring her back to normal. She listens to you, you know. I'll be fine down here, I'm nearly finished."

Hermione took the opportunity and sprinted up the stairwell, stopping at the youngest Weasley's bedroom door. Besides all this Harry business, she needed to talk to her about Ron. She put her hand on the knob and sighed. _Why on earth am I nervous? Ginny was never one to take sides._

Ginny yanked the door open effectively dragging her visitor in and gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I thought you were the twins trying to prank me again." She helped her up and shut the door loudly. "They tried to get me talking with these truth telling sweets laced with veritaserum they've started selling at the shop. It's ridiculous, really. I've known better than to eat anything they gave me for a long time." She saw the morbid look on her friend's face and sat down on the bed, motioning for Hermione to join her. "Come here, what's wrong?"

"You'd know what was wrong if you were talking to Harry." She sat upright and casually crossed her legs. "Why aren't you?"

Ginny examined the genuinely concerned look on Hermione's face. It was unlike Hermione to want to change the subject. She knew something was wrong though. Ron had been sulking around more than usual and twitched a little whenever her name was brought up which, surprisingly, in two days' time was enough to make him look like he had a disorder. "We never got back together. That's it really."

"I know that's not the truth. Explain further, please."

_Sigh…_ "Remember when you three went off to save the world and how he broke up with me so the Death Eater or Voldemort wouldn't use me against him? She watched Hermione's head nod. "Well I was scared; frightened actually that something terrible had happened to him. The news wasn't great from any direction and anyone left in Gryffindor Tower agreed that I was a wreck. I wasn't up to talking to anyone about it but Luna and she was captured so I had no one to talk to. Well one day Neville saw me crying in the corner of the Room of Requirement and started trying to cheer me up. It wasn't really working but it was nice having someone to listen. He was actually there for me whereas everyone else just avoided me because I brought them down. He listened and he didn't care that I got tears all over his robes. I was feeling really bad and lonely and I ended up kissing him. Before you ask, it was really sweet and there was this spark I felt. We were snogging before I could stop myself. But then Harry came back and we were both confused about what to do. I wasn't really up to just taking him back and leaving Neville out to dry. I didn't want him to think I used him because I didn't use him. He's such a special guy and he means a lot to me... All that courage Neville displayed in the final battle? He said he'd done it for me. He said he'd keep me safe and win me back so that I would choose him. I fell for him really hard."

Hermione was speechless. A love triangle was out of her area of expertise. Neville Longbottom? It was too strange to be true.

"I told Harry what had happened after we got back from the school and he wasn't very happy. He wasn't angry but he didn't want to believe it. It made me mad that he thought he could swoop in after saving the day and assume I'd be here for him when he came back. I didn't care how much he thought of me while he was gone. I thought of him twice as much and I was miserable for it. I fell out of love with him and I told him I was staying with Neville so he should just let me go. Then maybe a week after our row, Harry starting trying to convince me that we were better off together so I stopped talking to him and started spending more time at your and Neville's new places. And I told myself that Harry doesn't really exist anymore. It's easier said than done since he hasn't left the Burrow all summer." _Whew, got it all out and without shedding a single tear._

Hermione's jaw had dropped. She'd had the hardest time getting it to close again. After that, she believed she could live through her own Weasley troubles. "Ginny... Is this really what you want? You have no feelings for Harry at all?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't feel the same way I did before. I regret that it had to come to this but I can't help the way I feel. Even if I took Harry back I would feel guilty all the time about just taking advantage of Neville. I really do like him and he's liked me all this time. I was just to blinded by my feelings for Harry to realize it. A part of me is going to always love him but that part of my life is over."

Hermione could do nothing but bob her head in agreement. This was way more complicated than anything she'd ever had to deal with. SHe came here under the pretense that talking to Ginny and Harry would get them back together. That wasn't an option now. "Ron proposed to me the other day and I made him feel like an idiot for doing it."

Ginny's eyes widened and her eyebrows went with them. "You're joking!"

"I wish I was joking. He got so angry at me when I said no that he left and got so moody with me. I feel terrible about it."

"Ron proposed to me the other day and I made him feel like an idiot for doing it. I shouted at him and insulted him and compared him to Draco Malfoy."

Ginny's eyes widened and her eyebrows went with them. Both girls began to smile shyly, soon turning it into full out laughter. "Malfoy, really? Is that why he's been such a sour grape lately?" She could barely be understood through her chuckles.

"You would know better than I would. We haven't spoken since then. I'm supposed to talk to him about it before dinner on Harry's orders but I only have half of an idea what I'll say… You and Neville, who would have thought it?"

"More like you and Malfoy."

"There's absolutely nothing going on between him and me!"

"Oh, yeah? Try convincing that to Ron now. He's been teetering on and off the edge since he moved in near you and now he's going to suspect that something was going on the whole time."

_Sigh._ "I know it. I wasn't really thinking when I chewed him out. He kept calling me ''Mione' it was driving me mad, I couldn't really control what came out after that." She stood up and made way for the door. "I'd better go say something now. Your mum's nearly finished with dinner and you know he can't listen while he eats and I'd rather avoid a scene if it's possible."

Ginny threw her head back with laughter. "Oh, trust me, there will be a scene."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The light that usually took over in his eyes was gone now. It was as if their previous encounter had diminished their bright blue glow. One look in her direction was enough to tell her that. She'd felt bad enough as things were, but knowing that she'd crushed his spirit let her know that this wouldn't be like their other fights. Anything before now was simply a disagreement or a difference of opinion; their days at Hogwarts were complicated to say the least, and through each row she was sure that she'd never want to forgive him. Still though, the tables were hardly turned. He hardly ever came to her in the past begging for her forgiveness. He was stuck in his ways and ensured that his opinion was correct. Well, now it was her turn to be stuck in her ways. She'd do it differently, however. She'd get her friend back.

After walking down the steps from Ginny's room, she found Ron alone in the den. He was by his self and apparently brooding over her presence there. Hermione hadn't expected him to be alone but it was lucky that she didn't have to ask anyone to leave so they could talk. No one seemed to be around and she was certain that this was the first encounter in the Burrow where she would have a completely private conversation.

A long silence filled the air and she lamented coming down alone. "Where is everyone?" She found her voice among the fear she felt.

"Outside," he grunted. "Fireworks display from Fred and George."

_This is progress._ Since her arrival he had ignored her and didn't think she could get him to talk so easily. Her mouth opened to form an apology but he stopped her before she could speak.

"What are you even doing here? I thought you wanted little to do with me anymore." He was obviously grumpy but she hadn't expected him to have a bad attitude right off the bat. Ronald Weasley was a grouch: that was common knowledge, but she couldn't remember a time when he sounded so dejected.

The air was thick with scorn on his side and remorse on hers. She accidently let out a chuckle. "I never recall you being so acrimonious."

He groaned walked to the other side of the den, getting as far away from her as possible. "You know I can't stand it when you talk like that."

"Like what? she asked with a test. "Like I have a brain?"

"Don't you mock me! Is that what you came here for? To kick me while I'm down? You did plenty of kicking last night so you might as well clear off now."

She took a pause for breathe. It seemed like she'd forgotten herself. Teasing him now seemed so second nature. Now it was her turn to feel like Draco Malfoy. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"For everything I said to you, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset with you."

"Then why did you?" he challenged. "Why did you attack me that way?"

"I didn't attack you, Ronald. And even if I did, don't you think you might have deserved it? You bullied me –"

"Oh, come off it. Don't pretend like the things I said to you at school still bother you to this day. You know why I was so mean? You know why I didn't want to let you in? Because you're intimidating, is why! Yeah, how's that for a word with more than three syllables? You strutted through the halls of Hogwarts boasting off your intelligence, expecting everyone to praise you for knowing it all because you're muggle-born and you didn't know any of it a month before you came to school. Well it got old really quick, _Her_mione! And I couldn't take it the way other people did. I couldn't shrug it off because I liked you!"

"You had a rather nasty way of showing it." Her arms were crossed and she was looking straight into his eyes. It was hard to believe their "friendship" had lasted this long without this conversation happening.

"Yeah, well you made it pretty difficult at times."

"So if I had just sat in the background, only speaking when spoken to, would it have been easier for you?" The sarcasm was thick on her voice.

"Actually, it would have been! That's why I ran off to Lavender. I knew you liked me back at that point. But she never contradicted a thing I said and she never made me feel like an idiot. She made me feel loved and like everything I had to say was important."

"Yes, which is exactly why you felt so suffocated by her! Merlin forbid someone be around to take you down a peg or two."

His hands were pulling at his hair. He hated talking to her about stuff like this. It always made him feel like he was losing his mind. They would go around in circles until they had no more insults and accusations to throw. "You suffocated me too! And having her around was a nice contrast for a little while. When we snogged, she never threw it back at me later like you did." He'd had enough of it now. She would never change. Things between them would never change and he wasn't sure he could take a lifetime of even friendship with her now. They weren't a good fit. There was no such thing as compromise with her and he was too prideful to be the bigger man. "Why don't you run off to lover boy Malfoy since you like being around him so much more than you do me?"

She gasped and it was then that she could feel a small part of her heart dissolving into irreversible hostility. She took her wand out of her jacket pocket and saw his expression change. _He thinks he's in trouble, does he?_ "Fine, have it your way. I was wrong to come over here. You're just as impossible now as you were then. At least _he's_ changed since school. Oh, and good luck running off to Lavender this time, because she's dead and she's not coming back so you can spite me!" That last bit came out of her before she could stop it and disapparated. Now he would definitely think something was going on with her and Malfoy and he wouldn't keep quiet about it this time. The only difference now was that she didn't give a damn what he thought anymore.

* * *

The steps leading to her apartment building seemed grayer than usual. Her legs didn't seem to want to walk up them, as if the depressing color would poison her if she touched it. She felt so low now, especially after her comment about his deceased ex-girlfriend. It was below the belt but he always did manage to bring out the worst in her. Had someone told her a week ago that she would lose her friend forever and get stuck in a rut of self-hatred she would have checked their temperature for a fever. There was nothing to do now but wait for Ginny or Harry to realize she wasn't there and allow them in her flat so they could pep talk her one more time into talking to him. _It's useless now. They'll be no forgiving on either side this time. I was way to bitter.  
_

She trudged up the stairs and continued on to the second floor, walking down the hallway like it was death row. _I'll walk through this door and in no less than an hour one of them will be after me to be the bigger person. What if I'm tired of being the bigger person? It was a friendship doomed from the start._ Her hand reached into her jacket pocket for her keys but came up empty. _Oh no._ She checked the other pocket with no relief. It was then that she began to frantically search her person for it. No such luck provided her with the entry way. "Oh, you must be joking," she swore in a mutter. "Wait a second, am I a witch or not?"

She pulled out her wand and spoke the incantation aloud, "Alohamora!"

The rusty jiggle of the doorway left her feeling helpless. Hermione cast a summoning charm to try and get her key but it was hopeless. There was no key to be found and it was starting to get to her nerves that she was actually locked out. "Is there even such a thing as a witch being locked out of her own residence?"

"Who are you talking to?" The unmistakably drawl of Draco Malfoy put her on high alert. He had stepped outside his door to find out what all the ruckus was about only to find Granger going bonkers over her still locked door. He was leaning against his door frame and taking a bite out a small green apple, wearing a black bathroom robe and dark blue trousers. This was too much for him to ignore. He had heard her muttering to herself for the past few minutes but ignored it. He couldn't retrain himself any longer when he heard the words "locked out."

She turned to confirm her fear that Malfoy was about to taunt her in this hallway with nowhere for her to go, but immediately faced her door again upon noticing his lack of proper clothing. A deep blush arrived at her cheeks before she could gain control. "Have you gone mad? Go and put some clothes on! This is a respectable residential hallway, not some cheap brothel!"

He remained in his spot and took another bite. He was enjoying this way too much. "What's the matter, Granger? Locked out?"

She let all her breath out at once and put her hand to her face, trying her best to cover her frustration. "It would appear so…"

"Didn't you know these doors are charmed not to open by magic? The only way in is with your key. It's to prevent any hostile people from coming in and attacking you... A safety precaution for some of the muggles that live here. So where's your key, Granger?" His smirk was beginning to turn into a sneaky smile so he took another bite out. If he wasn't careful she would catch him in a laughter fit. _This is too priceless._

"I was completely unaware of that. Now, unless you're going to help me find the super, would you please go away? I'm having the worst day and your happy-go-lucky attitude is making it worse." She was still facing the door because he was still barely clothed. Her nose scrunched up at the thought of Malfoy being happy-go-lucky. It was unheard of.

"What's that you say? I can't seem to understand you since you're standing so close to the door. The locked door, of course; the locked door that isn't going to open even if you stare it down and give it your worst 'I'm Hermione Granger and I hate you' glares. I suggest you turn around so I can hear you better. Unless, of course… are you too prudish to see me in my natural state?"

"Malfoy, I'm in no mood to deal with your childishness so please just go away. Far away, as far away as you can manage, actually." Hermione checked her pockets once more with no result. _This is torture. Since he moved in I've managed to avoid bumping into him and now I remember why. He's a prat in every way, shape, and form!_

"If I go away you'd be stuck out here on your own. The super left for the remainder of the summer holidays and she won't be back until mid-September. I think Sweden was her destination, although I can't remember for certain." He finished with the last bite of his apple and stared at the core, as if examining it would give him new found knowledge.

_Great, this is just perfect. I'm stuck in the hall with the maybe the second to last person I'd want to be stuck in the hallway with, he's just regained every confidence he had for teasing me, and I won't be able to get into my apartment for another five weeks? What the hell am I going to do...? _

_Oh, there's the Burrow…_ Her memory was flooded with the argument with Ron from earlier and she instantly crossed that option out. _Nope, that's just uncomfortable, and there are enough exes there disagreeing for one household._ _Maybe I could go home? _

That wasn't a viable option either. Her parents had kept a love of Australia in their hearts after she'd restored their memories and they were currently at their home there on a honeymoon. They wouldn't return for two weeks as they were having their local home on its routine annual fumigation. Every house in that neighborhood had one; it was only natural that her parents have one too. _Even though I've never seen one trace of an insect while living there…_ She could hear her mother's voice reasoning her argument in her head.

_"And why do you think that is, Hermione? It's better safe than sorry and it's always good to have an out."_ At this point, her options included begging Ron to forgive her so she'd feel comfortable at the Burrow or staying with Neville, or Luna and her father, or asking Harry for permission to stay at Grimmauld Place. Harry didn't want to live there alone with all the memories of Sirius clogging his mind. He'd told her once that he might return one day and make a home of it but not all by his self.

_There's no way I'm begging to anyone for anything, especially not Ronald Weasley. Neville's got Ginny over half the time and I cannot imagine a more awkward living scenario. Besides, she'd only make me apologize to Ronald and my pride would be shattered. Same goes for asking Harry about Grimmauld Place, I imagine. I'd at least like to keep my dignity while I'm forced to live somewhere else! And Luna's place would guarantee me a spot in the loony bin of St. Mungo's if it means I have to listen to tales and explanations of creatures and theories that don't exist and have no basis of fact. I won't subject myself to that._

She had her bottom lip subdued by her teeth, desperately trying to figure out a way to get of Malfoyless torture.

Her lack of response after a long while caused his eyes to go from the apple core to the pink spot on her lip where she was biting it. Draco felt his stomach sink and his blood rushed from his head to his cock. _Oh, bloody hell…_ She licked her lips absentmindedly and that was what did him in. Without actually thinking of what was going to happen to him, he took her by the hand and pulled her into his living room. She was loudly protesting and trying to pull away but he chose to ignore her; he was stronger than her on any day and she was forced to come along. He dashed into his bedroom and picked up a clean black t-shirt from off the foot of the bed and pulled some grey slacks out from his drawer. He returned to the living room fully clothed to her surprise and she forgot herself and her rant about how rude he was.

"Are you happy now? I've got something on and you don't have to be stuck in the hallway anymore, chewing your bloody lip. You can stay here," he noticed her mouth beginning to form words in inevitable protest but stopped her short. "Don't worry. I'll take the couch and leave you be, for the most part..." He was sure she might have heard that last part but if she did she didn't let on.

Hermione was silent. This was complete madness. There was no way he was actually suggesting this to her. "Are you feeling ill?" She hadn't meant that to come out loud but still wondered what the answer was.

"No, I'm feeling quite spectacular actually. What other choice do you have? If you had another option I'm sure you would have left for there by now."

She gasped internally. _Did he just read my mind back then? _Her eyes squinted into a glare at him and she swore to herself. "Actually I was wondering what to do about clothes. I have to work in the morning."

"What a coincidence! I have to work as well, and nearly in the same place you do. All the better reason for you to stay here. And as for your clothes? Go buy more. I'm sure you're due for a new ensemble anyway." He waltzed out the room and into the bathroom to contain his _urges_ for her. He had nothing left to say to her anyway. _What the devil is wrong with me? She's just a girl! She's a girl you barely know, and a girl that, less than two months ago you couldn't stand to be in the same room as! Get a grip, Draco!_ It didn't matter what he told himself. He'd been ignoring her attractiveness for years now based on the entire "You're a mudblood and I hate you" prospect, but he'd long cast away his blood purity nonsense after the dark lord suggested he kill someone. Everything that came out of his mouth after that day was an easily constructed act that came from practice of doing it in the past. It was his guess that his body was acting this way to make up for lost time. Every fiber in his being wanted to lay her down on the couch and take her right then. It was only his sanity and fear of getting slapped and cursed that prevented him from doing so.

She was still shouting at him through the door but he hadn't heard most of what she said.

"I'm not in love with this idea you know, and it's really not my only option. But for the meantime," she couldn't believe she was really saying this. "I suppose it wouldn't be such a terrible idea. You have to keep at least a meter away from me or I swear, Malfoy, I won't be able to control what happens to you!"

See there? He knew she'd give in. They always gave in.

"Two weeks and I'm out of here!"

The bathroom door opened at her statement.

"What happens in two weeks?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"My parents will be back and I can stay with them."

"Why don't you stay with Weasel and his clones?"

She sighed and considered explaining but thought better of it. "It's really none of your business."

"Have it your way." Of course he knew already why she couldn't stay with them. It was written all over her face. Since he'd heard the argument and assumed nothing came good of their next encounter he was in the know. If she could have stayed there she would have left twenty minutes ago instead of arguing with herself about staying with him. He shut the door in her face, leaving her totally puzzled and alone in his living room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_**Day One**_

Hermione was too far away from her comfort zone. In all honesty, she wasn't sure what made her agree to share temporary lodgings with Draco Malfoy. It might have been the pleasantness of his voice or how he hadn't scowled at her once in the entire conversation. He was considerable nicer to her than he used to be and to admit that much out loud frightened her to death. It was almost like he was a different person. Perhaps it was the loneliness talking but she figured it was better than staying at the Burrow for a few weeks of discomfort and shame. Not to mention the certain awkwardness of being around her worst enemy right now. If she wanted to point a finger she would blame Ronald Weasley for putting her out of her mood. It was like he and Malfoy had switched places in her book. That was a scary thought to think but it was true.

If the ginger hadn't challenged her to a screaming match and thrown her apology back in her face she might have remembered to check her pockets for her house key. This whole scenario could have been avoided if it wasn't for him. _He's such a self-absorbed prat. Well, I really should keep a purse more often anyhow._ She had no idea where her key was and could only assume she'd left it in her flat. It made little sense to do so however, because she was more than one hundred percent certain that she'd grabbed it before bumping into Malfoy in the hallway earlier. What happened to it after that was anyone's guess.

_Maybe it fell out of my pocket while I was apparating, and it's forever lost in the time-space continuum._ She laughed quietly at her little joke. _It could be there, I suppose. Or it's at the Burrow… If that's the case I'll owl Harry later and ask him to look for it. _She was seated in his living room still, unreasonable afraid to venture into the other rooms. He'd told her she could take the bed is she wanted it but she wasn't so sure if she did. The thought of sleeping in the same bed Malfoy sleeps in sent an unpleasant and involuntary chill down her spine. _How many other women have been in that bed anyway? I doubt I'm the only one and I seriously doubt I'll be the last one._

"Humph," she moaned in distaste. It wasn't fair that this should happen to her of all people. She was a good person, or at least she thought she was. If this was the punishment she was receiving for losing control of her temper, it was highly unjustified. So she forgot to bite her tongue after doing it all these years, so what? Ron never bit his tongue and being an arse one hundred present of the time never got him anywhere.

"What are you grumbling on about?"

It was the first phrase he'd uttered in a while and she hadn't realized that he was in the same room as her. Malfoy was in the back of the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee. She never thought she'd see something so incredibly muggle-like from him. Now that she thought about it, he living in this apartment was strange. They were on the border of muggle and wizarding London and she never thought she'd ever catch Malfoy acting like a normal member of muggle society. Even the super of their building was a muggle-born witch. Some of the residents here were muggles as well. How he figured all this out was a mystery to her; making coffee and grocery shopping? It was total madness.

"Why are you even here?" she asked without warning, giving him a suspicious look.

He stared back at her from over the rim of his mug. She was seated on his couch and acting like she owned the place. It was rather comical from his view of things. "Granger, I live here. You're the guest remember?" His response was completely flat.

She stuttered and gave him a glare. "That's not what I mean, Malfoy, and you know it! How on earth did you come to stay here of all places? Shouldn't you be at home?"

He gave her a smirk ad lifted his brow. "This _is_ my home, Granger." He couldn't resist teasing her. It was to compensate for the urge he felt to take her on his couch. His sex drive was taking control of his very being but it didn't bother him enough to inquire about it, but he was a little concerned at his growing and purely physical attraction towards her.

She nearly smacked her own head but held her head to keep from getting a headache. _Why does he insist on being so frustrating? I know he knows what I'm talking about._

"You were there," he said after a few minutes of silence. "But you didn't see it from my point of view. Had you seen what I saw, in your own home, you wouldn't want to stay there either. I had the chance to leave and be on my own so I took it. I have no reason to stay there and have a constant reminder of how stupid I used to be." His tone was rather dull but she could tell how serious he was. It was as if he was holding something back.

She let it go, sensing his desire for a change of topic. "How'd you get so good at pretending to be a muggle?"

He moaned at her question. "Do you have to know everything? If I knew you were so interested in me I would have started bothering you at your place."

It was too easy to see he was avoiding the question on purpose. "Why so touchy about it, Malfoy?"

"I'd rather not discuss it, if that's okay with you. Besides that, it's really none of your business."

"It's not really okay." _I'm going to make it my business, you jerk. There's no reason not to tell me. It isn't like I'll boast about it to the whole world._

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing. You of all people should know that." Their conversation ended there as he entered his room and shut the door.

She knew he was right about it being none of her business and he had all the telltale signs of not wanting to talk about it, ever. She also knew that before long her curiosity would get the better of her and she'd bring it up again, even if by accident. This was a secret she just had to unveil._  
_

* * *

"_Harry, I need you try a summoning charm for the key to my place if you're still at the Burrow. I think it must have fallen out of my pocket while I was shouting at Ron and I'm locked out now. Don't worry, I'm safe but I really need to be home right now. _

_Love, Hermione. PS Don't ask about Ron. I'm not up to talking about it."_

Harry folded the letter in a sloppy fashion and stuffed it in his jean's pocket. "Okay…" _If she's not at home then where is she? And whose owl is this? _There was a dark grey and white eagle owl perched on Harry's shoulders, causing him a great deal of pain. He seemed perfectly comfortable and Harry was sure he wouldn't move without a reply.

He slipped his wand into his hand and walked into the stairwell. "Accio Hermione's key!"

He waited for a few moments with his hand held out.

Nothing came.

He tried again with more passion, holding his hand high in the air in case it flew over him…

Nothing again.

He went to the nearest hard surface and conjured up some stationary. His reply was blunt and as soon as the clutching owl had entered his life was as soon as he left it. Almost immediately he began to rub his shoulder while walking down the stairs into the den. "Mrs. Weasley have you seen Ron?"

"Oh, I think he's it the kitchen. I heard some rustling in there a little while ago." Molly was knitting a sweater with the letter "H" and small blue stars on it. "For Hermione's birthday," she said to Harry as he left the room.

Harry took the letter out of his pocket and reread the words that piqued his interest the most. _Don't ask about Ron. "_I wouldn't have if you hadn't mentioned it." In the kitchen he saw the refrigerator open but heard no rustling or food being shuffled on the shelves as Ron was known to do. "Hey Ron, what's this about a row with Hermione?"

Harry waited for a reply. Instead of hearing the mumble and grumbling moans of his best friend he heard a gentle and feminine sigh and then a not so feminine swear. "Shit."

A sea of long, silky ginger hair tried to rush past him and out of the kitchen with little success. Harry gently grabbed hold of her wrist, succeeding in stopping her from leaving and mentally willed her to at least look at him.

"Would you let me go, please? I need to get back to him." She was quiet, as if trying to prevent her mother in the other room from listening in on their soon-to-be over conversation.

"What, he's here?"

"No."

"Then we need to talk." He pulled her by her arm into the back yard near the gardens and kept pulling until they reached the shed. He'd expected more protest from her and she wasn't pulling away so maybe there was still a chance she wanted him back. Harry casted muffliato and took her by her shoulders, forcing her look him in the eyes. He didn't grab her very hard but she looked uncomfortable still. He remembered a time when he could be close to her and she would gladly kiss him. "What's it going to take, Ginny? I loved you just as much for every minute I was gone. I miss you."

Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not asking you to prove yourself, Harry. It's over, so please just move on. In fact, just stay away from me, okay? You aren't doing yourself any good by staying over here and torturing me."

"Why is it such torture if you don't feel anything for me anymore? We can make this work. I don't want to lose you."

"Honestly, Harry get a grip! There's nothing here for you anymore and nothing to make work of." Ginny sighed out of desperation and calmed down. "You have already lost me. I have nothing left to say to you about this. It's Neville I choose. It was always Neville. I was blind not to notice it before because I was too busy trying to get you to fall in love with me. He picked me up every time you let me down. I would have killed for you to have asked me to the Yule Ball but you didn't. You didn't even look my way. You never looked my way! The only reason you saw me after all that time was because I went after someone else. He protected me just fine in the castle against death eaters, and yes they suspected that he cared for me but they didn't use it against us. None of that mattered to him. You're too late, Harry and I'm sorry but I've made up my mind. I love him, okay? There will be no convincing me, so you might as well leave."

Harry took all that with a grain of salt. It didn't matter what she said. It was engraved in his heart that he would always love her and that they belonged together. She had to feel the same. "Ginny, I love you. Please, just don't give up on us." It was rare for Harry to beg out loud, but if it meant keeping Ginny then he would shout to the skies. "I can give you what you want, I can make you just as happy, I swear it. You don't have to do this."

Ginny gave him a glare so shockingly cold that it sent a chill up his spine. She took one more deep breath before pushing away from him. "Don't touch me, Harry. Don't ever touch me again! _He_ makes me happy, Harry. He's more than just your back-up sidekick; he's a real man with real feelings. He's the sweetest and most considerate person on the planet and I won't do you any favors by hurting him to be unhappy with you. You've lost Harry." Any other day and there might have been tears in her eyes. He always used her crying against her by claiming that she still cared. But this time she wouldn't let him win. "If you aren't going to leave then I will. Excuse me," she brushed past him and smacked his hand away to ensure that he didn't follow her. It was enough that Harry was living in her house; he didn't have to make her feel guilty about her decision as well.

She was more than a thousand percent sure that she'd made the right choice. Everything felt so natural when she was around Neville. She wasn't going to jeopardize her happiness. Ginny was done waiting for Harry. If he regretted leaving her then that was perfectly fine. That whole year had been hell for everybody and she was more than pleased that Harry hadn't been killed a second time, but she was a different person.  
Ginny fell in love with Harry because she put him on a pedestal. Things were different now, things had changed. She was no longer that little girl who blushed at the sight of him because she knew who he was. After getting to know him she realized there was nothing to be intimidated by. He was just like everyone else but he had terrible, horrible luck most of the time. Seeing just how normal he was made her celebrity crush go away and she was glad for it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_**Day Two **_

Monday morning came faster than it should have. Hermione's body felt as if it had been lacking something important and right away she knew she shouldn't have missed out on Mrs. Weasley's delectable spread for dinner. It left a hole in her stomach that a biscuit and coffee would not fill.

It was only her second day staying with him and he was nowhere to be found. The couch where he claimed he would sleep was empty which didn't concern her as much as it should have. In retrospect it could have been that she'd hurt his feelings when she attempted to pry into his personal life. Draco Malfoy was an entity from another universe as far as Hermione was concerned. He still had a way of making a person feel insecure about themselves but not in the same way he used to. Instead of bullying her he would tease her, which wasn't the far from home but it was relaxing to know he wouldn't verbally assault her anymore. Hermione hated to admit it but he made her nervous. She wanted to get to know this new person with the same face but never saw the opportunity arise.

It took nearly all her courage to go to the bathroom, undress herself and get in the shower. Not knowing where she was while she was bare in his apartment made her feel on edge, and she didn't want another incident like the one with Harry. If another man saw her without proper clothes on before she was married she wouldn't allow herself to be called anyone's wife. She'd be ruined. Hermione locked the door and kept her wand on the sink counter in case something should happen. She didn't know what to expect from this "new Malfoy." He hadn't advertised that he was a different man but he didn't have to. The sole fact that he invited her into his home was a major difference in character. It seemed like "mudblood" was no longer in his vocabulary, for which she was thankful. It wasn't a pretty word and she was so incredibly tired of hearing it. As she lathered up her hair and upper body she heard the unmistakable open and close of the front door, causing her to feel unsure of herself. Nothing seemed certain while she was naked within the same vicinity as another man. She couldn't hear much else over the shower water, but she rushed to clean the rest of her body and rinsed off, wasting no time as she put on fresh clothes.

It was unlikely that he stayed out all night. He didn't strike her as the "party animal" type, but she decided she didn't know him well enough to make assumptions about him. With extreme caution she opened the bathroom door and peaked her head out. She could hear no movement so she ventured out a little further and saw him asleep on the couch. It was weird living here and she just knew it would never be okay, at least not internally. He made her feel awkward and uncomfortable and it was only her second day. Fortunately she would be leaving for work soon and she relished in the fact that he wouldn't be there, but that he would be here unconscious. _I suppose he did stay out all night, unless maybe, he slept somewhere else, with someone else?_ _Never mind, it's none of my business!_

The brighter side of things was her brand new wardrobe. As rude as Malfoy was for suggesting she needed better clothes, he had been right. Everything she owned was starting to get too small or outdated. She spent the rest of her Sunday at muggle and witch boutiques for a much needed shopping spree. Combinations of the two types of clothing were quite nice when done together correctly. A lovely winter ensemble now filled Malfoy's closet and drawers. She still had a few summer things to wear until it got too cold. Where his clothes were now was a mystery to her but she didn't have time to ask and he wasn't around to answer.

The sun had just reached the horizon and she was ready to eat after depriving herself of a proper dinner. A glass of water and a bowl of porridge was all she had for dinner last night and it hadn't been enough. There wasn't anything quick to eat left and she didn't want to risk being spotted by Malfoy in his kitchen as she wasn't sure how he'd feel about it, so she apparated to a breakfast café located a few blocks away. By the look of things Hermione was the first to arrive. She made a mental note to go grocery shopping for the two of them and opened the door. It was barely seven o'clock in the morning but she had always been an early bird. Unlike a certain Weasley, whose mantra seemed to be "better late than never, right?"

Instead of driving herself up the wall thinking about him, she sat down at the table closest to the door and picked up a paper menu. It was ripped in some places and a few of the words were difficult to read because of how old and smeared the words were. Everything was written in green ink. With a quick and silent "reparo," she mended it and picked her favorite hot stew served with toast and an English muffin.

The waitress seemed impatient with her, regardless of the lack of customers. _It's not like she has much to do. No tip for you then, missy._ Hermione ignored her attitude and ate her food in peace. By the time she finished it was just half past the hour and she couldn't wait any longer to present her new proposal to her boss, Ella Wainwright. However she didn't arrive at the office until after eight. Hermione wasn't due to clock in until eight thirty. She frowned at her wrist watch and thought of apparating anyway, telling herself she could tidy up her office and hopefully put her in a good enough mood to promote her. As she picked up her bag she saw a telephone near the exit. It was as if all her problems had disappeared in that moment; no more staying with Malfoy, she could just call her parents and ask to stay with them.

_Miss prissy waitress probably won't let me use it unless I leave a nice tip. Well that's just not happening, I'll use a phone booth. I think there's one on the next block._

She began her walk for the booth at a quick pace. She didn't have much time before having to go in and she really wanted refuge. The last time she had been to Australia was to retrieve her parents and she didn't get much time to see the sights. The majority of her time was spent explaining to her parents why she'd sent them there in the first place. At first they'd felt a little betrayed. The Grangers never saw much of their daughter's talents because of the laws about underage wizardry and magic in front of muggles. But they came to understand the danger of the situation and, after all, they trusted Hermione's judgment more than anything and they knew she wouldn't have done it if it wasn't very important.

Hermione smiled at the memory of their reunion and rushed the rest of the way to the machine. She opened the booth and impatiently dialed her parent's other house number.

"Hello?"

"Mum? It's me, I was wondering if I couldn't ask you something."

"Oh Hermione, it's so nice to hear from you. You left so fast the other day, I was under the impression you forgot we would be leaving. It's so nice down here; your father's really enjoying himself."

Hermione could hear him in the background. He was more than likely in their backyard playing shuffle scrap, a game they'd invented when she was a little girl.

"Yes, mother it's nice to hear from you too. I was wondering if I couldn't come join you two down there."

"Hmm," Mrs. Granger's frown was obvious even from over the phone. "I'm not so sure, dear. It's kind of like our little tradition, these trips we take at the end of summer. You know we take you with us at the beginning of summer and during the holiday season, but your father and I get so little time to ourselves these days. It's been very busy at work."

"I understand," Hermione's mood had fallen and her mother could hear it.

"Is something wrong dear?"

"No, no it's just rather boring here and I thought a change of scenery would be nice."

"I know what you need. How about a job change if you're looking for new scenery? You don't seem very happy with your work and you were always so passionate about becoming a doctor as a young girl. You could go to university now and try it for a little while."

It wasn't a bad idea but she had her career plan in check. Everything was under control as far as she was concerned. one day she was going to be the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and people would thank her daily for all the hard work she'd put in and accomplishments she had.

"Hermione, are you still there? I've got to go now; your father needs a little help with something. But don't forget that we're showing the house when we get back. We're thinking about selling and moving into a smaller space. After the fumigation the contractors are going to start remodeling and making it up nice for potential buyers. The new place we picked... it's closer to the office and the commute is less timely. We'll show you around once we're settled, all right?"

"All right mum." She hung up and exited the phone booth. This complicated things. Unless Hermione admitted she was completely wrong and stroked Ron's massive ego, she would be stuck at Malfoy's place until the super for their building returned. _No. Staying at the Burrow is simply not an option._

On her way to the Ministry entrance, she found herself thinking more of Harry and Ginny's situation. She saw him just ahead of her and flagged him down to ask him if they resolved their issues.

"No, we haven't. She was jealous of you, Hermione."

Her eyes went up in surprise. "You must be joking. Ginny knows there's never been anything between us but friendship."

"I didn't mean jealous like that. She feels like I should have taken her with us when we went to search for Horcruxes. She thinks it was selfish of me to leave her there."

"Oh, please. I'm sure that is not the case. Ginny knows how important it was that we go and it wouldn't have worked well if she did come since Dumbledore didn't leave her anything in his Will. He had a plan for each of us. Besides, there's no way Mrs. Weasley would allow us to take Ginny with her and it was far too dangerous for her anyway."

"Yeah, well she doesn't think that way. She feels like she was in just as much danger staying at Hogwarts seeing as it was filled with death eaters."

"Where is all this coming from?" Hermione was very curious. Ginny never mentioned wanting to go with the trio and didn't say anything about it to Hermione.

"She just as much said that was the case. She said that the Death Eaters at Hogwarts were threat enough for danger and that they had an inkling about her... and Neville... _being_ together and they didn't use it against them there so they wouldn't have used it against her and I if we took her along."

Hermione took a pause and looked down. They were in the Ministry and alone in the elevator. "I'm certain that she was only saying that out of anger. Ginny didn't want to go with us, she just didn't want you to break it off with her. Although she would have been in just as much danger if not safer coming with us. But there's nothing that can be done about that now, it's in the past."

"Not exactly, at least, not for Ginny it isn't. She fell in love with Neville Longbottom in my absence and she's says he's more than just a rebound. She refuses to listen to a word I say and insists I move on. What am I supposed to do?"

Hermione was in a bind. She loved Harry too much to see him down like this and she loved seeing how happy Neville made Ginny. It wasn't fair that he should ask her to pick sides. "Harry... you must be considerate of her feelings even if they are misplaced. You should listen to her and move on," she said simply.

"What?"

"She's right Harry, there's nothing more to say. Even if her feelings of abandonment are unjustified she had every right to move on. She fell for you a long time ago and waited for you to feel the same way even after forcing herself to try and like other guys. I saw how much it hurt her when you started having feelings for Cho Chang, and it brought her down so much. If the only thing standing in between you getting her back was Neville then she wouldn't hesitate to take you back. But seeing as how you weren't together with her and she has real feelings for him, I say you should leave her to her happiness. Let them be."

"So I should just let her settle for him? How can you say all that? You know there was nothing that could be done! After Sirius's death I didn't want anyone else to die because of their connection to me. Moody was more than a reminder that I was the reason for all of the deaths going on and I couldn't bear to see her name on a gravestone. I couldn't have protected her even if I hadn't broken it off with her." Harry was having a hard time keeping his voice level but their location was preventing him from shouting too much.

Hermione sighed and took his hand in hers. "What makes you think she's settling for him, Harry? If he's been making her happy then of course she wouldn't want to go back to you, which is exactly why I say you let her move on. She's in a good place now. Look at it from her side of things for a moment. Should she and Neville break up and she wanted you back, would you take her? Besides, even broken up, people knew you had dated in the past. They still could have used her against you if they wanted to just like they used Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood against us. They knew we were friendly with them. That could have just as easily been Ginny in the Malfoy's basement. Don't you see? It isn't the fact that you didn't take her with you; it's the simple fact that she feels stronger for him than she does you. If that wasn't true she would have went back to you a long time ago. I'm sorry Harry, but that's just how it is. I hate to say it but she's probably just using those feelings of resentment as ammunition to tell you off."

"Even still, I can't let her go so easily. I want her back," he repeated. It was too weird talking about his love life out loud. He was still a guy after all.

"I know that, Harry. If you really love her then give her space. She might come back and she might not. But a huge part of loving someone is letting them be happy even if it isn't with you. It's maddening, trust me, but making her feel guilty about her decisions is only going to make her hate you."

He was silent for a while then turned to her. "You're right. Let me walk you to your desk."

"No, no, no that's perfectly okay. I can go back on my own. You go about your business and try to cheer up. If I were you I would start thinking of other places to live other than the Burrow."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble I can manage it before meeting the Head Auror."

"No, don't worry about me." She gave him a hug and a wave goodbye before speed walking down the hallway.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Draco awoke in a familiar bed with a killer headache. Thinking back about his night, he knew those last few shots of Firewhiskey had been a mistake. He opened his eyes and wiped his face with his free hand. He was not in his bed or on his couch and a warm body was laying as close to him as possible without being on top of him, so he had a general idea where he was. She was lying on top of his hand and it had gone numb in the night. Without causing his head to split any further he tried to remember the events of the night before. Granger had gone out shopping and he'd been bored. _That must be why I ended up here._

The girl was tugging on his shirt, an all-white button down just barely hanging off his shoulder. "Hey, take this off. I was waiting for you to sober up last night and I fell asleep waiting. You owe me something, don't you think?" she said with a pout.

"Don't be such a brat," he groaned out. "What time is it?"

She shuffled around in the blankets and grabbed the clock on the side table then pushed it in his face. "It is now five fifty eight in the morning and you are," she counted on her fingers to calculate, "six hours late past screwing me. Why'd you even come over here if you were going to leave me hanging?" Her straight black hair fell past her shoulders and she was trying her damndest to keep it out of her way by constantly pushing it back, forgetting all about the small black hair tie on her wrist. After a few more failed attempts she gave up and lay back down. "Come over here… I'm feeling lonely."

"I won't sleep with you with this headache. Would you just quiet down so I can concentrate?" It was true that he usually only came over when his intentions were purely sexual but he was sure now that he'd only wanted to sleep in a bed. It wasn't that he didn't want to touch her. She had a nice enough body that kept him coming back and cooked dinner every now and then so he'd spend the night with her. The only problem was that the girl had no getting way to comfortable having him around. She used to be quiet and submissive, she knew exactly what he wanted and wouldn't hesitate to give in to him, and then he started sleeping with her. Now he was starting to tire of her. She was becoming possessive, clingy, and acting like he would stick around for the run. That was always a bad sign. The girl knew going in that this wouldn't be a legitimate relationship and still the last few weeks had been very vexing for him. It was beginning to be too much. Just last night she was trying to convince him to move in with her. He ignored her and drank until he couldn't hear her anymore, although that was most likely because she'd left the room and fallen asleep.

"Draco, please?"

He rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers and exhaled intensively. "Please what? What is it you want now?" He took his wand and muttered a spell to give him some relief for the irritating sensations this hang over, and this girl, was giving him.

"You know exactly what I want. Just let me have it." Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at the wall. Her specialty was to act very upset with him and think that he would actually respond positively.

"Don't you have to get ready for work soon?" He really wanted to go back to sleep but she was having none of that.

She took off his shirt and straddled him. Apparently she had gone to bed only wearing an undershirt and the rest of her was unclothed. Her lips began to press against his neck, testing him to resist her. When he didn't push her away she lifted her shirt off and rubbed her chest against his. She pulled his cock out of his boxers and began to twist at it, then turned around on him and opened her mouth to receive his length.

"Hey, stop it. Fine, fine just lay down." As much as he wanted her to get the job done, if he didn't give in now she would never let him leave.

She did as she was told and opened her legs to him.

Draco wasn't really in the mood. He'd been thinking about Granger all night and how clueless she was. A couple of shot later he was imagining her without clothes on and he liked what he saw in his mind. He knew if he slept with the girl in front of him here, he'd be thinking about Granger, all alone in his apartment, sleeping in his bed. His index finger slipped into her tender folds and she moaned aloud and begged him to keep going. _This stupid girl would moan no matter what I put in there, I bet even a wet cooked carrot could get her off._ His heart wasn't in it but he was awake now. There was no helping it.

He took her left breast into his hand and began to massage it ungraciously, imagining that it was Granger's. The girl's blue eyes turned brown and her tanned skin went creamy. Her other breast went into his mouth and he began to suckle her right nipple while flicking the left one. She expressed her gratitude by pulling at his hair and scratching his scalp furiously. _All right, this has gone on long enough. It's time to get this over with._

He climbed on top of her and bit her neck in various places. Before long he was only seeing Granger underneath him. It didn't matter at this point as this was the only way he'd get off now.

"Draco, please," she was aching for him to enter her and end her suffering. It was her voice that came out of her mouth, but he only heard the one of a different muggle-born. It turned him on to no end.

He pushed his member inside of her and smirked as she called out his name in pure delight. He could feel her pleasure dripping out and spilling onto the sheets. She was wet but she hadn't been tight in a long time. That was his fault since he was the only one who'd ever touched her. He wasted no time pounding her wet pussy and grinding into her as much as he could. It was too much knowing that the girl he really wanted was lying in his bed at this very moment, probably wearing nothing but her knickers. Granger probably didn't sleep naked but it helped him immensely to imagine that she did. The girl underneath him was very vocal in a way that was threatening to ruin his Granger fantasy. Her voice wasn't very soothing at all. He covered her mouth with his hand and started to stroke her clitoris with his throbbing member. It did him no good to be with anyone else right now. If he opened his eyes and only saw her then he wouldn't be able to continue. "Shut it," he groaned into her ear before reentering her vagina and biting her neck again.

She mistook his anger as excitement and arched her back, trying to meet his thrusts but to no avail. He was going too fast. If she didn't know any better she would say he didn't want to be inside of her. It was like he was trying to get it over with. She tried to speak through his hand. "Please, Draco, come inside of me. I'm so close… I want to feel all of you."

He pummeling into her harder and faster until he felt he was going to lose it inside of her. This girl was so easy to please, it was no wonder he was getting tired of her. He wanted to be challenged. He wanted the thrill and chase of a nearly impossible conquest. He wanted Hermione Granger.

She came just as he pulled out and he spilled his warm seed all over her bare stomach.

She was panting and wiping her stomach with the sheets while he lifted up and sat on the edge of the bed. It wasn't like him to pull out that way. He was always so eager to come inside of her in the past, he sometimes he stayed in her until they fell asleep. "What's wrong?" she asked sitting up and cleaning off her stomach with tissues by the bedside table

"You didn't cast a contraceptive charm and neither did I. My head was hurting too much and I forgot."

She scoffed at him. "I told you not to worry about stuff like that. It can be taken care of, Draco."

He had had enough. She was trying to trap him into being with her; he could feel her conspiring every time he saw her. "Don't be daft. I'm not taking any chances with you."

"Taking any chances? Is the thought really so bad, settling down with me? I can take care of you, Draco! You don't have to live alone. I want to be with you, I want to have your baby! I want us to be together!"

"I'm not going to have a child with you out of wedlock! Have you gone mad?" He began to pull his clothes back on and took another shot of the Firewhiskey on the side table.

"Then why don't you just move in with me? We could make it work and maybe even get married?" her voice was full of confidence. She was sure that if he moved in with her then she could make him see that she was the only choice. He would see how great she was and how he couldn't live without her. Why else would he come over so often? She never saw him with anyone else. This had to be love, what she felt between them.

"I told you last night I'm not doing that. I have a house guest."

"That was just the liquor talking. Just put him out. Don't you want to give us a proper try?"

"Not really. I'm not going to put her out, she needs my help and I don't mind having her there."

"Oh, so it's a she? Are you sleeping with her too?"

Draco had officially lost his cool. "Why must you insist on being so impeccably annoying today? If I was sleeping with her do you really think I'd be over here with you?" he grabbed his belt and strapped it on tight. "You're irritating me. I'm going home." He went into her living room and disapparated.

That would be the last time he ever took to her bed. Sleeping with a woman that wouldn't mind having his baby if it meant keeping him was complete madness and he wanted no part of it. She was not to be trusted. Fantasizing about another woman while being with her meant he was done with her. He had never needed that before and he wasn't going to start now. She was getting way to comfortable having him around anyway. He wanted nothing more than to be far away from her.

Draco opened his door and slammed it shut. The shower was running which meant Granger was awake but he ignored it. He was too upset and too tired to be turned on. Right now he needed about six more hours of rest and he knew he could only get two. He was more than exhausted after only getting a few hours of sleep because of that dumb slag. He scribbled a quick letter to the Ministry and fell asleep almost immediately on the couch.

* * *

Two hours later, his head felt a little better but he was still desperate for a few more hours of sleep. Draco sat up and stumbled into the kitchen area. _ Of course there's nothing to eat._ He settled for a glass of water and some left over toffee he had taken from the visitor's space at the Ministry.

Granger was already gone but there was a note left on the counter in her handwriting. Now wasn't a good time for reading so he folded it up and slipped the note in his pocket. The wall clock in the living room read seven forty-five and it was almost time for him to go. He looked around for his wallet but it wasn't on the coffee table by the couch. That was its usual spot and he usually put it there without thinking about it. _If it's not there then I must have left it at her place, damn it. I'm not going back over there… She'd better have it with her._

He changed clothes and splashed some water in his face before paper towel, then used his hands to reconstruct his hair into a better state. His wand was still safe in his pants pocket so he rushed out the door and locked it. Draco found himself staring at the door across the hall. It was too strange to think that she wouldn't be living there for a while but that for the time being she'd be walking into his home each night until the building super came back. A smirk found its way to his lips as he figured his luck and he walked down the stairs in amusement before apparating to the Ministry entrance and storming his way straight to her office in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

The door was open. That had disappointed him because he was intent on slamming it open at his arrival and shutting it hard at his departure. He walked through and gave her his angriest scowl. "Give it to me."

She was sitting down with her legs crossed in the chair and it was then that he realized how short she was. "Why Draco, how nice it is to see you. I wasn't expecting you to just barge in here the way you did. Remember those days when you'd stop by for lunch and a quick shag?"

"Yeah, because that's all you were, a quick shag. Now hand it over, I'm getting impatient."

"Hmm, big mistake Draco. Now what was it you came here for? I'm sure whatever it is you want I don't have it."

"Cut the shit, woman! I know you know where it is! Where's my wallet? You have it with you here, don't you? You know I'm getting really weary of your bitchy mind games. Just hand over my wallet and I'll leave."

"Oh," she sighed. "I was afraid it wouldn't have to come to this. If you'd greeted me and acted kindly towards me like you used to then I would have given it back just as soon as you asked. Instead you had to come here and call me names and use foul language. Draco, I love you but that temper is simply not attractive. You love me too, so you should treat me better."

He would have thrown her out of her chair for stalling him further but her words threw him off his track. "When did I ever give you the impression that I had feelings for you at all?"

"How cruel, Draco!" she stood up and walked into the corner of her office. "Come on, let's shag right here, just like we used to. And then maybe I'll think about giving you back your silly little wallet." She started unbuttoning her top and gave him a look full of lust.

Draco stormed his way over to the corner and took his hand to her throat. He growled into her ear, "Where… is… it?"

Her words came out as raspy and she pointed over to her desk, "Top… drawer… Draco, please!"

He released her rushed over to it and took a quick look through it to make sure nothing was missing. He sighed with great relief and put it away on his person. "I am so tired of dealing with you. You've grown on me and in the worst way possible. You're like a weed that just keeps coming back. Don't come to me anymore, whatever we had you can consider it over."

* * *

Hermione turned her head and saw Harry boarding the elevator again. He gave her a wave and she smiled at him. _He's going to be just fine. I think they both will… hopefully._ Even if Harry and Ginny didn't end up together, which was likely at that point, she knew he was going to be okay. Still, she knew how both parties felt. Harry went his whole life never getting what he wanted and he'd had so much already taken away from him. For the one real love he's had in his lifetime to not want him anymore must hurt. And Ginny's side of things wasn't too pretty either. She got what she wanted by dating Harry after all that time of wanting him. They hadn't been dating for very long when they broke up. It was Hermione's inexpert opinion that after finding someone else, Ginny realized that she placed Harry on a pedestal and he wasn't what she made him out to be. Sure they'd had a good time snogging in the common room but none of that was enough to place a real lifetime connection. She never got to see the side of Harry that no one else saw until it was too late. Neville showed her something that no one saw coming: his extreme loyalty and devotion towards her.

Hermione thought about what would have happened if Voldemort had made the prophesy to be about Neville instead of Harry. If Neville was the one who had to fight since day one, would Ginny have fallen head over heels for him while ignoring Harry? Would Neville have broken up with her and left her to her own devices, and would Harry have seen that as an opportunity to sweep her off her feet? She didn't know because there were too many variables involved to say. What she did know was that Harry really just needed closure if Ginny was planning on staying with Neville, and based on the look of things, that's exactly what she was thinking.

She clutched her bag tight to her chest and stopped short in front of her boss's office. From the sound of things she was already inside and someone was shouting. She stepped back a little and widened her eyes as Draco Malfoy smacked right into her and her nose smacked into his chest.

"Ouch! Malfoy? What are you doing here?" She rubbed it a little and checked to see if she was bleeding.

He had been so frustrated a minute ago but calmed down once he saw her. "You work for her?"

"Yes, she's my boss. How do you know her?" Something was weird. He came out looking angry and Hermione knew he'd been shouting at her. "What was going on in there?"

He scoffed at the thought. "She's a lousy excuse for a woman, holding my things hostage because I won't touch her anymore."

She looked bewildered. "Wait a minute. What are you saying? You and Ella are...?"

"We're nothing now. Evidently, she doesn't know how to accept loss so she took my wallet hostage and begged me to, wait it isn't important. If she's your boss you should probably change jobs because she's crazy. Excuse me. I have somewhere else to be. I'll see you at home." He left the department as fast as he'd entered it.

_That was strange. _Before she could gather her thoughts she heard Ella screeching for her.

"Hermione! Get in here, now please!" Ella wasn't the type of girl that took rejection lightly. And based on what she'd just heard, her assistant was the reason Draco didn't want her anymore. "What was that?"

"What was what, Ms. Wainwright?"

"Oh, don't give me that bullocks. You're much too smart to play dumb. Have you been shagging around with him? You're the one, aren't you? I heard you out there getting friendly and he never gets friendly with anyone for no reason! You've stolen him from me!"

Hermione was in shock. Two minutes ago she knew nothing of Malfoy or Ella's love lives and now she'd discovered they were intertwined. "I swear I don't know what you're saying. I haven't stolen him from anyone! He's not mine to steal! Please, calm down. The other employees..."

"Shut up! Shut the door." Ella waited for her to follow orders before proceeding. "You know, he was my first love don't you? And my first lover. I was the very first one to greet him when he started working here at the Ministry. He used to come over once or twice a week and make love to me. So why did he just leave me? You're the reason he wouldn't move in with me and the reason he doesn't want me anymore. Oh, I can just smell him on you, you home wrecker! I'm the one who's supposed to smell like him, not you! We took our N.E.W.T.s in the same room here on this very floor. I was overjoyed to find out that Draco decided to take the test and opt out of redoing the final year of school. If you had just returned to Hogwarts this never would have happened. Draco was getting used to me, I just know it! He would have gotten used to me and wanted me to stay by his side and we would have gotten married! But you had to step in and ruin everything. He'll never love you the way he loved me. Someone like you could never please him! You're just a silly little thing and he'll get tired of you very, very quickly."

This woman was mental. Why did these things always happen to Hermione? She didn't fancy being around hotheaded people as they tended to take everything out on her. She had nothing to say.

"Well I won't accept this. I can't have my rival working under me so she can sabotage me further. You're fired so get out!"

Hermione's mouth was agape. This woman was clearly driven to insanity. Hardly any of the things she'd just accused Hermione of were true and none of them made sense. "Sounds to me that this romance of yours was completely cooked up in your head, Ella." She'd been thinking that throughout the woman's whole speech but she had little intention of saying it out loud until she'd lost her job.

"What did you just say to me?"

"He didn't love you, Ella. He didn't even seem to like you all that much based on what I heard. It sounds like he was only using you for a quick shag and that was only because it was convenient for him. I'm not going to stand here and let you talk to me that way. Whatever you think happened between Malfoy and I was just as imaginary as your relationship with him. Good day, Ms. Wainwright." Hermione slammed the door on her way out. She could not believe how thick that woman was. _She didn't even ask me my side of the story!_ She collected her things from the desk in front of Ella's office and stalked out the office with an extremely hot temper.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Hermione was furious. Nothing was working out the way she planned lately, and she had no one to blame. She wanted to be promoted and she had been positive that today would be the day it happened. Her hard work meant nothing now. All the time she spent at the Ministry serving Ella Wainwright had been a complete waste and Hermione was sour for it. Ella had never taken her seriously in the two months she'd been working there. Every time Hermione made a suggestion, instead of being praised for her logic and quick thinking Ella would say it was a horrible idea and claim it as her own when the Head of the Department came around. She had let it slide because she didn't want to start something unnecessarily but now she regretted letting that dumb brick steal her ideas. Had she known that Draco and Ella were associated lovers she never would have taken the job. Mrs. Granger and Draco were actually in agreement with each other, although they didn't know it; it had been long past time for Hermione to get a new occupation.

She shrank her belongings and put them in her purse while she walked back into Muggle London. They were tiring her arms out and she remembered then that she desperately needed to go grocery shopping. Her sad empty fridge was running out of time. Before she could enter the store front, a familiar red headed face tapped on her shoulder. Ginny smiled to her friend but Hermione could tell that something was wrong.

"So what are you up to? Picking up some food for the apartment?" Ginny asked. It wasn't like Ginny to beat around the bush so Hermione could only hope she'd want to talk about her problems sooner rather than later.

"Yes, there's not much to eat now, it looks like I've neglected to go shopping before I ran out. What are you doing on this side of town? I didn't know you were familiar with this side of London." Hermione started down the aisles and began her food examination. She was very picky about buying fresh fruits and vegetables or anything for that matter.

Ginny smiled shyly and stopped for a second before answering. "Well I'm not really. Neville lives on this side of town. He says it's rather funny staying around a lot of people who have no idea what's going on. I was actually on my way to see you at work. Why are you out so early?"

She let out a deep breath and tried not to get angry. "It's a rather long story but it ends with me needing to work somewhere else. My boss was totally mental." Hermione was tempted to pick up more ice cream but thought better of it. Ice cream made her think of him and that was the last thing she wanted on her mind since he just cost her a job. It was too bad because they had just stocked up on chocolate mint and she hadn't tried that kind. The fact that its scent reminded her of him pushed her to not buy it even further.

"What happened?"

"Ugh, Draco Malfoy lives in the flat across from mine and his presence there is already ruining my life. We spoke this morning because knows my ex-boss and they were shouting in her office. Turns out he was shagging her and she took her frustrations of being dumped out on me. Worst neighbor ever."

"You aren't serious. What's Malfoy doing living here in London?"

"I know! I asked myself that same question. He's so completely invasive!"

"Invasive?"

"Er, never mind..."

"Can I ask you something?" she sounded unsure of herself. "Why did you take the N.E.W.T.s at the Ministry instead returning back to school for your final year at school?"

"Um," she hadn't been prepared to answer this question. Hermione was sure she was going to ask something about Harry. "McGonagall was the one who approached me with the idea. She asked me about my plans for the future and I told her. She said I had the option to take them instead of wasting a whole school year learning things I already know. Plus with everything that was going on with the castle damages she wasn't sure if the year would start on time and it would waste my time even more so if it doesn't. She thought it would be better for me to get a head start in my career if I wanted to be head of any department at the Ministry and the war made everyone fall behind. She just didn't want me to suffer any more than I already had."

"I see. And other people did it that way too?"

"Yes, I think I know a few others who went that route instead of going back. Why? Were you thinking of doing that?"

Ginny shrugged and put some granola snacks in Hermione's cart. "I think that I might have to."

"Why's that?" Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned her focus to her friend.

"Wait, we can't talk about this here. It's very personal and I don't want anyone else to overhear. Are you almost finished?" Ginny hated those people that broke down in public places. She didn't feel much like crying but it was no one's business what was going on with her and gossip traveled oh so very quickly.

"Oh, sure just let me pay for all this."

It was a rush from the store to her apartment building. They couldn't apparate in broad daylight because of where they were, so both girls took to walking rather swiftly.

"Ginny, can't you just tell me a little bit of it?"

The other girl shook her head anxiously. There was no compromising with her about this. She wanted to be in privacy before she started talking about anything. Hermione escorted her inside and locked the door. She set all the food bags down in the kitchen and sat them on the couch and Ginny sighed dramatically.

Hermione hated seeing her friends like this. There weren't too many things going right these days and it was starting to really bother her. "What's going on Ginny? What happened?"

She felt worn out, like she had told this story a million times before when the reality of it was that she hadn't verbally told anyone. "Nothing's really wrong but nothing's really right either. I messed up, Hermione."

Hermione put her hand on Ginny's shoulder and tried again. "Tell me what the matter is. Is it Neville?"

Ginny nodded her head in confirmation.

"Well, what is it? Did you two break up or something?"

"I don't think I'll be able to go back to Hogwarts because I'm so incredibly reckless." Ginny's shoulders were slumped and she was biting her nail.

Hermione's hand immediately went to cover her mouth in surprise. "What do you mean, 'reckless?'"

"Neville doesn't think it'll be a good idea. He said by the time the baby gets here it'll only be April and it's just poor planning. I'll be ridiculed and I won't be able to finish the year if I do go." She wiped her tears and took some deep breaths.

"Wait," Hermione was sure if she heard that right. "What baby? Are you trying to tell me that you're pregnant? Are you sure?" This was just too much as far as she was concerned.

She sadly nodded her head. "I know I am. I wasn't feeling well yesterday and I was battling nausea for the past few days so Neville insisted that I go to see someone about it. He took me to St. Mungo's and he was in the room when they told me. He's really excited about it, well more excited than I am. I'm very worried about all of this. Instead of going back to Hogwarts he's going to become an Auror and he says I should try to get a job for the meantime. I know I should be excited too but this isn't really the best time for me to have a baby. I'm torn about it because I really wanted to go back to school and I had plans for myself! There was so much I wanted to do before I had children. When Neville goes into Auror training soon he'll hardly be around. The money's good but I'll need him by my side. I just don't know what to do. I just turned seventeen for Merlin's sake!" She slouched into the couch and Hermione put her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

Hermione wasn't expecting this at all. Ginny, little innocent Ginny was going to have a baby and at such a young age. "Please, Ginny. You'll have me, you'll always have me. It's going to be okay, I promise." Hermione took aa deep breath before asking her next question. "Weren't you… you know, being careful?"

She shook her head. "Not careful enough, apparently. I didn't think to do the contraceptive charm every time because I'd just get caught up in the moment. I can't believe this is happening now. Mum's going to be sore about this and push us to get married."

"Don't you want to marry him?" Hermione was genuinely curious about the answer. "You do love him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do but not because it'll clean things up a bit. He said we'll get married in due time. We both agreed that just because this has happened unexpectedly, doesn't mean we should rush everything else. We love each other and getting married right now will only rock the boat further down the road. He wants to propose to me when the moment is right and when he just cant hold it in anymore and that's just fine with me. Neville says his grandmother knows people that got married just because they were pregnant and they ended up unhappy because of it."

"Well I suppose that's true. Why don't you move in with him?"

"That's the plan for now but I still just can't get over the loss of my last year of Hogwarts. I wanted us all to have fun before we ran out of time and now I have no choice but to miss out." She wiped her face dry once more and Hermione got up to get her a small face towelette. "I know that it's all for the best."

"Aren't you happy, at least a little? You're bringing life into the world; you should cheer up, regardless of the circumstances. Things are going to be really tough from here on out and you have to be strong. Not just for yourself but for your baby."

"I know, I know. I'm happy about it. I'm just whining for my last couple of months as a child. I'm really going to have to grow up after this. Neville's a good person and I'm lucky to have him. I couldn't have picked a nicer guy to start a family with. Hey, Hermione?" Ginny looked around the room and then back at her friend. "Where are we?"

"Oh!" In her hurry to get Ginny to a place where they could talk, Hermione had inadvertently brought her back to Malfoy's apartment. He didn't seem to be home which would help her sudden explanation of her living situation. "It's kind of complicated."

"Whose place is this?" the red head stood up and crossed her arms in order to interrogate. "Why aren't we in yours? This is your building, isn't it?"

_Well, that was quick. Feeling better already and totally ready to question me._ "Yes it's my building and no it's not my apartment." She took a deep breath before going on. "Listen, I can't find my key and the super to my building is on vacation so I'm stuck here until she comes back. I would have told one of you guys but there's no way I can stay at the Burrow with Ronald acting like an idiot. Please don't hate me."

"Hermione, Ron never acts like an idiot. His purpose is life is to be an idiot; there's no acting involved." Ginny took another look around and walked about the apartment. "So whose place is it? It looks pretty all right," she called from her inspection in the bathroom. "Very modern."

"Care to take a guess?"

"Hermione, just tell me!" she poked her head out of the door frame of the bathroom and gave her friend a joking glare.

Before she could say anything else the front door opened and revealed the man of the hour. Draco waltzed in dropped his wallet on the end table and fell onto the couch carelessly. He was only required to be at work for a few hours on Mondays and because of the lack of sleep he got last night he put the work in and left as soon as the clock struck ten. The entire fiasco with Ella Wainwright had drained the little energy he had left. The only thing he wanted to do was go to sleep.

Ginny stepped out of the bathroom and poked her head over the top of the couch. She couldn't believe the casual manner in which Malfoy had entered his home. Either he didn't care of he didn't notice that there were two people having a conversation in his living room. It wasn't like Malfoy to keep quiet. Either way, the fact that this was indeed Draco Malfoy's apartment was not lost on her.

Hermione noticed that Ginny was about to lose her cool, then noticed Draco drifting to sleep and pulled her friend into the bedroom and covered her mouth before she could shout. "Please, calm down before you say anything. He saw me in the hallway and offered to take me in; I had no choice. Okay, maybe I did have a choice and chose this one but it really isn't as bad as it seems. And anyway, he's been very nice to me and he even gave me the bedroom while he sleeps in the living room, so please don't make a huge deal about me being here. I'm not sure I can take it," Hermione managed to get all that out in one breath. Sometimes she amazed herself. She lifted her hand away from Ginny's mouth and put it back at her side.

Ginny was speechless. There were simply no words to explain how surprising this was. Hermione had just sprung all of this on her at once. True, she had done the same thing to her by announcing that she was pregnant, but this was completely different. "Are you joking? Hold on, you sleep in his bed? He lets you sleep in his bed?"

Hermione shook her head no. "I'm afraid I'm not joking, and yes I sleep in his bed! Believe me, it's been a majorly difficult adjustment. I'm still not used to any of it. He isn't really a bad guy anymore. He's just a flirt sometimes, but it's harmless. I'm starting to think he never was and that all the pressure of doing as he was told kind of made him into a monster for the sake of keeping up appearances and keeping his family safe. At least that's what I've observed now; it's only been two days."

"I'm not so sure it was all a lie, Hermione. He might have been pushed to believe all those bad things about people who weren't pure blooded but he believed it for as long as he was there." Ginny poked her head out of the bedroom door. "So you really think it's safe here? You think he's different?"

"I think he's been different for a long time. Why else would he live in Muggle London? Our building super is a muggle-born and I don't think he would have moved here if he still cared about things like that." She had no idea why she was suddenly defending Malfoy as if she had known him her whole life. They weren't even on a first name basis and she wasn't clear if they ever would be. She never thought any of those things about him until she was forced to explain herself to Ginny.

"So are you two…?"

"What?"

Ginny shut the door back and took both of Hermione's shoulders into her hands. She was looking at her directly in the eyes as she asked, "Have you been in bed with Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she froze in place. An image of Malfoy laying her down and climbing on top of her snuck into her mind. She pushed Ginny's hands away and grabbed her cheeks, desperately trying to cover her blush.

"I'll take those red cheeks as a no. But you've thought about it haven't you?"

"Only just now and because you've brought it up!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Draco's plan to sleep until three in the afternoon was not going well. His head was still hurting after that morning's fiasco and he could still smell that dumb bint on his clothes. He continued to shift around on the couch uncomfortably every few seconds just thinking about how awful she was. There was no way he could sleep peacefully in her scent as it would only cause him further torture. He wanted to forget all about her and knew that eventually he would after the right happenings. The door to his bedroom was closed and as he passed to get to the bathroom he heard frantic whispering behind it. He grinned almost mischievously at the thought of Granger and the Weasley girl conversing about him. He'd noticed the girl in his apartment earlier but didn't have the energy to ask why she was there. _Hell, I still don't have the energy._

The cabinets under the sink counters in the bathroom opened at his arrival and he took out a pair of black trousers. It would have been more work to pick out a shirt because of his undetectable extension charm had hidden them all in the back. He summoned a long-sleeved black shirt and a grey vest then set all his clothing items on the counter before turning the water on to the highest temperature possible. His bedroom door was opened and he heard the footsteps of two people walking towards the front door. Someone left, he guessed it was the Weasley girl, and then more footsteps walked into in the kitchen. The fact that Granger didn't leave had comforted him somehow. He knew it was a possibility for someone to give her another place to stay but she'd told him that her parents would be the only ones. It had been two days not two weeks. And he hadn't noticed he was worried that she might leave until just now when the threat was gone. The fight she'd gotten into a few days ago with the Weasel popped into his mind and then he smirked. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The warm water ran down along his body and he closed his eyes, thinking more about a naked Granger. He imagined her in a plain white laced brassiere and matching knickers. She would lie on his bed trying to cover herself with her hands but he would not allow it. Draco would take her into his arms and grind into her slowly. He would make it fun, he would make it easy for her. He decided she was more than inexperienced and that her virginity was his to have. It didn't matter to him if she hadn't slept with anybody else. In fact he preferred it that way when it came to Granger. He fought the temptation he had to take his cock into his hand and wank off in the shower. If he was going to do this he had to start today or Merlin knows where he would lose control of himself and do it in his trousers by mistake. He washed up a little faster than usual and rinsed off. His shower had lasted long enough plus he knew that if he waited now he would lose his chance. It would be more than fun to tease her and watch her squirm around while she was under him half naked, thriving at his touch. He nearly lost his cool as he wrapped the towel around his waist.

* * *

That was too close of a call. Ginny could have made a real mess of things with her famous temper and Hermione was grateful it didn't have to come to that. After escorting her guest out and giving her a comforting hug she proceeded to put the neglected groceries away. Ginny being with child had placed a higher position of importance on her list of things to sort out. She wondered briefly while putting the pasta boxes in the top cabinets how Harry was going to react to all of this. He could either be very angry or incredibly sad. Either way it would be a disaster. She'd told him this morning to give Ginny a chance to remember him and see if she came back, and if she didn't then he should forget about her. Now it was obvious that he had no choice but to try and forget. It was unfortunate that once again he didn't have a say in something but things didn't look too good for him on that front.

She sighed while arranging the fruits in a medium sized bowl and told herself to stop worrying about it. Everything was going to be all right because Harry would find a new girl to secretly obsess over and then they would start dating and be happy and Ginny would only be a family friend. At least she hoped it worked out that way.

Hermione had more important things to worry about, like finding a job to replace the old one. Her plan was to become a healer if she didn't get promoted but she'd made no plans on what to do if she got sacked. She could still follow through and go to St. Mungo's to start her schooling but something was stopping her from motivating herself to do it. She could get something different at the Ministry. It wouldn't even matter if she ran into Ella; the Ministry was a big enough place for the two of them. She might never see the lunatic witch ever again, but she doubted if she was that lucky. Hermione had plenty of options. After all, she was the brightest witch in a century. Surely she could find something to do and excel in whatever she chose. This would be child's play, she hoped.

She took a relaxing breath and picked up one of the green apples in the fruit bowl. It stared back at her as she held it at eye level. The light from the ceiling gave it an innocent shine and for a moment Hermione believed it was a magic apple, almost like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She took a bite out and imagined someone with evil intentions wanting her to submit to their will. Her little joke caused her lips o lift into a smile. Before she could stop it, there was laughter from the back of her throat. However it was very brief and all because of a hand, pale and slick had all but snatched the apple from her grasp.

She gasped and turned right into him. It was Malfoy. Of course, it was Malfoy. Their closeness had excited her and scared her half to death. Ginny spent the last few moments of her visit convincing Hermione that she would fall in love with him and they'd share a bed many times, as a joke of course. Hermione blushed at her friends words but scolded her for them. It would just be too convenient for something like that to happen. And nothing ever happened like that in real life. She refused to get worked up over him like this when she wasn't even sure that she liked him as a person, but it was hard not to think naughty things with his close proximity. He was wearing a shirt and a towel around his waist. The idea that he was bare under that towel made her blush furiously and she tried to get her brain back to normal, but it was too late. She was intrigued.

He took a bite out the apple as well, and in the same spot she did in order to emphasize an indirect kiss. He saw her look down for a second and notice his lack of clothing. This seduction thing was going much easier than he had expected. Had he known she wasn't going to slap him anymore he would have tried this a long time ago if it shut her up. "What's the matter, Granger?" he whispered. "Don't like my choice in clothing?"

Hermione was silent. If she said anything now he would twist it around to mean something perverse. She wasn't entirely sure she didn't want him to do that either. A part of her wanted him to drag her back to the bedroom, _come on Hermione, that's only your virginity talking, _but she knew this was only more of his endless teasing. The other part wanted to smack him in the face but she couldn't bring her arm to lift. She prayed that if she didn't say anything he would linger into her for that much longer. His skin was warm and wet from the shower he'd just taken. His scent was alluring and inviting, it almost pleaded Hermione to make the first move but she knew better than that. If she walked out of this alive she would consider that a success.

"Aren't you going to reprimand me for teasing the poor and innocent Gryffindor?" Draco stepped a little closer to her and when she didn't step back he snaked his arm around her waist and buried his face into her neck. "You smell almost better than I do, Granger."

_Damn him. Damn him four ways to next Sunday. I want him to stop and I want him to do more all at the same time. _"Malfoy…" her only word came out as a wavering request. Her voice was betraying the side of her brain that made sense right now. _He's Malfoy, that's right. Think about who he is. Think about what he does to girls that let him touch them. He'll only use me if I let him and I'll end up as the next Ella for sure, only with no place to stay until Mum and Dad get back. Don't give in, don't give in, don't give in… Hang in there, Hermione._ "Malfoy…"

"Isn't it about time we got to calling each other by more familiar terms? You are sleeping in my bed after all. I say it's time we put the past far, far behind us." He let his towel fall to the floor and slid his other arm up to her neck so he could cradle it with his hand and tangle her light brown tresses. "What do you say, Granger?"

"Draco, please." She wasn't sure what she was asking for but at this point she wanted him to make all of her decisions for her. Sure, she might regret it later, and possibly right after, and maybe it was the way he smelled or the way he was holding her but right now all she wanted was to give in. _Don't give in, don't give in… wait, why shouldn't I? He's Malfoy, that's why. Plain and simple, he doesn't deserve my virginity. _"Stop it," she nearly whimpered.

He stepped back and smirked at his little experiment. She would want him now and he was certain of it. If he could wait a little longer she'd be begging for him. They all did. He had different plans for her than the other witches he'd tossed aside. He didn't know what they were but he knew it was something else, and something special. His towel fell and revealed that he was indeed wearing boxer shorts and somehow Hermione felt a little disappointed.

* * *

After he had picked his towel up and retreated back into the bathroom, Hermione was clueless as to what she should say or do next. Her train of thought was completely lost. If he had waited a few seconds longer she would have let him... well she didn't know what she would've let him do but he would do it if she let him, right? She wasn't sure if she should be upset with herself or with him. He had to be planning this whole thing from the beginning. Did she really care what he did anymore? Was she really going to compromise herself so he could have another plaything? Confusion had taken over quickly in the part of Hermione's brain where to thought things through. _What am I supposed to do? Pretend that never happened? He was so close and so seemingly naked!_

What was happening to her she didn't know. She'd been attracted to him, sure enough, but never had any plans on acting on her new found attraction. It was all so unwarranted, her feelings for him now. And were they even real feelings? Was she not only projecting on him her fears and desires? Was she simply lonely? Did any of that matter? She had no idea what he was looking for with her. He was a prick. For all she knew he only wanted a quick shag. That seemed to be his style but he knew she needed a place to stay.

Surely he wasn't as heartless as he used to be? He wouldn't throw her out if she refused right? And at the same measure, he wouldn't throw her out if he decided he didn't like it, would he? He had been awfully cruel to Ella this morning in dumping her but to be fair the girl was delusional to get in a tryst with him in the first place. Did that make her delusional as well? He was so hard to resist. _No, I'm not going to do this to myself._ Her head was full of questions and she wanted them answered but not by him. _Desperate times called for desperate measures,_ she told herself as she left for the last place she ever thought she'd go.

Draco heard her leave and sucked his teeth with regret. _But she'll be back._ He knew what he was doing after all.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

She arrived just outside the entrance of the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Her mission was to seek out the best piece of advice she could about her Malfoy Predicament and this first person was bound to help her in some way. There was a strong possibility that she might not even want to talk to Hermione, let alone give her advice about Malfoy. But it was her best bet to start here and she'd already made her way to the door. A few reassuring breaths later and she headed inside.

She toured the area with her eyes, quickly scanning the pub for the woman she sought out. Upon seeing her she marched over to her bar and sat down next to her. Madame Rosmerta gave her water and a smile before proceeding to serve her other customers. The woman had been eternally grateful to the Golden Trio since the war's end and she was not afraid to show it whenever the opportunity presented itself.

"What are you doing here?" Pansy Parkinson asked in the rudest way possible. "I didn't say you could sit next to me, Granger. It would have been polite to at least ask me first. Aren't you supposed to have manners or something?" she sounded bitter and resentful but that wouldn't stop Hermione. She was on a mission.

She cleared her throat. "I came here to ask you a very personal question."

"Well you came to the wrong place. Who says I'm going to answer you?"

She hadn't missed the way Pansy always felt the need to bite back after never being bit in the first place. The beat of their conversations in the past was always quick. Why should things be different now? "It's about Draco Malfoy."

At the mention of his name the dark haired witch raised her eyebrows a tad. She had obsessed over him in school after all, and her love was always unrequited. It hadn't been easy to forget about him. She was still on the road to recovery, trying to figure out if she meant anything to anyone she really cared for. "What's there to know? He's a heartless bastard who only cares about himself."

"Of that much I am aware. But you don't really think that do you? You were friends with him after all." This wasn't going well. If she didn't find a way to make peace she would never get the information she wanted. "Listen Pansy, I know things aren't going so great for you right now, what with your parents disregarding your feelings about what happened to you, but I need your help and I am asking you nicely. If it makes you feel any better, things have been complete crap for me too so you don't have to feel alone."

Pansy's ex-fiancé was now in a tropical island, enjoying the fruits of his broken engagement. They were betrothed from an arrangement of Pansy's father and her ex-fiancé's mother, but one day he decided there were better and prettier fish in the sea, took the next girl he could find to paradise and left Pansy a cruel note stating the circumstances of which he left. From then on Pansy was distraught and took to drinking to numb the bitterness she felt.

_I always feel alone these days. _ "Fine. If you're going to insist on staying until I talk then I'll talk. What the hell do you want?"

Improvement, sort of. "You were in love with him back in school weren't you?" This was not her area of expertise and it killed her to talk about these things with the world's most emotional and egotistical female.

"What makes you think I'm not in love with him now?" she quipped back. Pansy knew the conversation was headed this way as soon as she'd brought the stupid beautiful git up. It wasn't fair for all of these residual feelings to just linger like the morning dew on the grass. She wanted to be able to walk in the yard with no shoes on, metaphorically speaking of course, and she could never do that with the heavy hold Draco had on her heart. Having an unrequited love was much better than deliberately getting your heart broken by a man you didn't even know.

"Well I assume that if you still had feelings strong enough to go after him then you would be after him now. You might not know where he lives but I'm sure you could find out. It's no secret that he works for the Ministry so you could catch him if you wanted him. Admit it; if you wanted to want him you'd be around him right now just like you always were. You simply don't want to want him do you?"

Pansy coughed and grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket to cover her mouth. "You always were the cleverest little witch…"

It had sounded more like an insult than a compliment coming out of her mouth but Hermione had very little time to complain. Her patience with this girl was running thin. "You're being counterproductive. I need your help or else I wouldn't be here."

"All right, I'm sorry. Well I'm not sorry but you're right in that I don't want to want him. I don't want to want anybody. I want my parents off my back and the Prophet off my arse. What is it you want to know?" Pansy was really tired of having this conversation with the Golden Girl but the longer she protested, the longer the conversation went on. It was better to cooperate than whine about things senselessly.

Hermione cleared her throat again out of nervousness and drank a few gulps of water before going on. "I was wondering if you ever slept with him."

"No."

"Oh."

"And not for lack of trying either. He simply wasn't interested in me that way." Her memories sank in of all the times Draco had turned her down. She allowed herself to become a little sad at where she was now, instead of being in his arms.

"So he didn't take advantage of the fact that you had feelings for him?"

"Draco is… he's not a bad person. He might not always seem like it but he knows what's right and what's wrong. He doesn't shag every girl he sees just because he can. If he wants to sleep with someone then it's because he really likes them or liked what they could offer him. He holds beauty with high value but that's not all he cares about. I couldn't get him to even touch me after seven years which is kind of embarrassing. I'm not all that bad looking I just don't fit his tastes." She asked for a refill of her drink and waited impatiently for its arrival while shoving peanuts into her mouth. "I'm allergic to these. In two hours I'll have hives and a swollen tongue. I don't really care; someone here will fix me up. It's usually her," she said pointing for a moment at Madame Rosmerta before drinking half of her gin and tonic. "She keeps hiding them from me but I keep finding them." Her sing-song tone was light and cheery as if this whole thing was a game but only for a millisecond, and then she was back to normal Pansy. "We dated for a little while but just to please our parents, and he left me quick enough. He told me that he was sorry because he could never return my feelings the way I wanted him to. And after that year he didn't have much time to throw himself at other girls, he had a task to do as you already know. There was a lot of pressure on him already and he was very stressed about it. He didn't exactly have the childhood he desired. No, Draco never had much time for girlfriends."

Hermione felt conflicted. She had no idea what it felt like to grow up in a household where your father decided everything for you before you were old enough to talk. Her Slytherin classmates all had socialite authoritarian parentage and their involvement in the war became necessary when their parents had decided to. It was simply unfair. She wondered for a second what Malfoy and Pansy and the others would be like if they hadn't been brainwashed into thinking that people like her were scum, if they had a choice or a say in the matter. They might have ended up friends in an alternate universe. It was hard to picture mentally, but she had seen something nice and it left her wanting more. "There's a girl our age named Ella Wainwright. Do you know of her?"

"Obviously," she said with a snort.

"And why is it so obvious that you should know her?"

"When you're in love, you make it your business to know your competition. She's the one that hold him in the palm of her hands now. Last I heard they were shacking up together at her place. I thought a lot about making him see me in a different light until she came along. He seemed okay with her, a little less angry at the world for making him the way he was: a heartless man with a hatred for something he didn't understand fully. She's muggle-born too so I thought that she was changing him and so I gave up on him to see if she did but that was weeks ago. Has she?"

"Er, I don't really know about that. He's just broken it off with her today apparently. He claims she was too clingy and in a jealous rage, she fired me because she thought I was too close to him." She left out the part about her living under his roof and deemed it something Pansy didn't need to know.

"Ha, you and Draco too close? Yes that's very funny Granger. What did she really think?" Pansy requested to Rosmerta to keep her drinks coming.

"Well," Hermione was a little uncomfortable talking about this now after seeing Pansy had become a borderline alcoholic. "I'm sorry to say that she really did think that. She heard us talking after he left her and assumed the worst." _Surprisingly enough, the worst had nearly come true earlier but I'll keep that to myself as well._

"That woman's head was cracked," said Pansy after a little silence. "I wasn't so sure of it at first because they looked so good together and Draco doesn't have a habit of dating odd women. He isn't the kind of man that likes to waste time. She must have tricked him into thinking she was sane enough to bother with, or he was in it halfheartedly. Which is it?"

"Um, I suppose she was tricking him. How do you figure all this out?"

"Easily," she croaked out after a nasty belch. "Oh, excuse me I forgot where I was. I know him better than anyone else in the world. He probably got comfortable with her because she took care of him a little but she got too used to having him around. His mother... well she's been pressuring him to tie the matrimonial knot and he's been objecting. If Ella-bitch was trying to get him to do the same then yeah, he would have left her. Is he living alone now?"

"Sort of," Hermione wasn't used to being in a position where she wasn't doing most of the talking. Pansy was opening up to her and the things she was saying were actually helpful. She chalked it up to being purely sloshed in her spot and thanked Merlin that the former Slytherin had forgotten who she was talking to and their history together.

"Well he left Narcissa at home a while ago," she hiccupped. "Draco wanted to escape that place and all the bad memories associated with it. I never fully understood his reasons but I guess that doesn't matter. If he's left that Ella bitch then it's because he found someone else to take care of him. Draco doesn't know how to cook and he's too lazy to keep clean on his own. He's only ever been served and that's exactly what the little whore was giving him. She was pleasing him and feeding him and tidying up so he was comfortable enough that he would stay around for a little while. Her crazy must have come out a little bit too much this time and she couldn't make up for it."

It was all too much to handle. Hermione was shocked and only because it all made so much sense. She didn't know how much of it was true but Ella was always a little unstable. If she was under the delusion that they were a happy couple then Pansy was probably spot on. Ella played housewife to him and got too comfortable, that had to be what happened. She didn't exactly have the best personality either. "So do you think he'd treat any woman he gets with like that?"

Pansy seemed to sober up for this part of the conversation, "are you asking me if Draco Malfoy is capable of loving another person?"

"I think so, yes."

Pansy sobered up for this answer and thought for a long moment. It was a question she didn't ever think she'd be asked. Draco was a very complicated person but he wasn't incapable of loving. He just didn't know what loving was. His parents were so distant so that didn't surprise her. "Well he is. Just because his track record is garbage doesn't mean he is. I was the wrong woman for the job and Ella-bitch was just the wrong bitch at the wrong place at the wrong time. She spoiled him too much and it backfired on her." Another hiccup and another swig put her back into her inebriated state.

Hermione got up, said her thanks to Pansy and gave Rosmerta a smile before leaving the establishment. Everything seemed a little clearer now because of that conversation. Draco didn't just want her to have another notch on his belt, so to speak. All the girls before her were ones that approached him first. They made him the bad guy because he left them brokenhearted. It was easier now to see that if Draco Malfoy wanted something then he wasn't going to let it out of his sight, not even for a second. He'd been with Pansy because it made her happy but he couldn't oblige. He stayed with Ella as long as he did because he was comfortable. Did he seek after Hermione because he thought she was different? Did he want her for something more than just to have her? She wasn't absolutely sure it was possible for him even after talking to someone who knew him very well. Hermione didn't find herself extremely sexually attractive but maybe he did. It was just so out of character for him to act this way with her. Perhaps if he had taken his time and actually wooed her like Viktor Krum had, she could have actually seen the good side of him. But now she had to have proof of his intentions other than a good word from a friend because that simply wouldn't be good enough.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The apartment was empty when she returned. It was comforting since she didn't have to worry about being approached by him and yet she still felt disappointed. He was supposed to be home so she could have "the conversation" with him. It wasn't like she was looking forward to it, (it was awkward enough to prepare the little speech in her head), but there were a few things she needed to know if she was going to let her inhibitions go. Maybe was she over analyzing again. But there were some things about her that she couldn't change and it didn't matter to her if they changed or not. Over analyzing was what she was famous for; it was who she was. Why should she compromise herself for the will of Draco Malfoy when she wasn't fully aware what his will was?

It was only recently that she had learned not to make an enemy out of him. Trusting him was another story entirely. Then there was possibility that she was making too big a deal out of all of this. Plenty of women threw their sexuality around all the time, so what if he hit on her? It doesn't mean anything. Hermione had never been one of those women in the past because she found morals and ethics to be important. Was there a place where she could draw the line between curiosity and promiscuity? She hoped so. How she was going to figure that out was also another story that she'd love to read.

The quill and parchment set on his bedside table caught her eye. _When in doubt, write it out._ She picked them up, set them out on his desk, and titled a list.

_Why I should sleep with Draco Malfoy:  
He's desirable.  
He wants me.  
It could be fun.  
I want to (I think).  
This list is stupid.  
_

She drew a line on the paper to split it and made another list.

_Why I shouldn't sleep with him:  
I could get hurt. (I should save my first time for someone who cares about me.)  
I barely know the real him.  
It would make things awkward._  
_I don't know what I'm doing.  
This list is even more stupid._

She made another line and scratched off the points of the old lists as she wrote a new one.

_Why I should make him wait to sleep with me:  
I barely know the real him, and he doesn't know much about the real me either.  
I want to experience more than just shagging with no in-between.  
If he wants me bad enough he'll wait.  
I don't want him to think I'm as easy as Ella or Pansy._

Her reasons were good enough for her. In that moment she had decided to play this game that he had set out on the table. If he wanted to play then that was fine but she made the rules and he had to play fair.

Just then she heard him enter the flat and she was suddenly very aware of herself. Hermione scurried to hide the list in a place where he wouldn't find it and tried to straighten herself up. Being around him made her more nervous than she would like to admit. She was about to open the door and confront him when she heard a voice that didn't belong to him.

"It's a very... nice place, Draco," it was a female speaking. Her tone was calm and complimentary, almost like silk or a warm blanket.

"Thanks, but you didn't come here to compliment my apartment did you?" It was hard to tell what kind of facial expression he had based on his tone of voice alone. He didn't sound irritated but it didn't seem like he was very happy to see this woman.

Hermione was thankful that he didn't sound the way he did earlier either, back when he was whispering seductively in her ear. For some reason she was frozen where she stood with her hand on the doorknob. It was impolite to eavesdrop but she simply couldn't help it. Not to mention that she was afraid that if she moved they would hear her moving near the door and assume the worst.

"What exactly are you here for? I thought you said you'd never come to this side of London if you could help it." He took on a more aggressive form of speaking but Hermione didn't care. She would have loved to know who he was talking to about now.

"I want you to come back home with me. You've been here long enough and I'm suffering for it Draco."

Something inside of Hermione broken like a glass cup crashed onto the floor. Who was this woman and what right did she have to dictate Draco's actions? Was it an old lover? No, it couldn't have been. Hermione had seen firsthand how he handed women who talked to him that way. A scorned lover had no business telling him what to do in his opinion. It had to be someone else.

"I told you that I have no plans of going back there, mother. Why can't you just accept that?" He was definitely angry now. It had been a few months already since he started living here and he was tired of having this argument. He never thought he'd be having it in person though.

"Don't you see that I want the best for you, dear? You staying here all on your own is not what I wanted for you. I want you to be taken care of Draco, I want you to get settle down with a nice witch and– "

"And what, mother? Give you an heir? I've told you before that I have no plans of having children with a woman I hardly know. I'm not like you or him. I have plans for my life. What makes you think I want to be set up with someone anyway? I do fine on my own."

"Draco, please try to understand. It is only tradition that upon finishing Hogwarts that the Malfoy heir find a wife and continue the line. You are doing yourself a disservice being here by yourself! Hundreds of years of tradition all wasted!"

"What makes you think I'm here on my own?"

"What are you saying?" she sounded sad but hopeful at the same time.

Hermione could hear his footsteps approaching the door and stepped back trying to make herself look busy for his arrival.

He burst the door open and took Hermione by the hand once he saw her sitting on his bed. She had been keeping busy and looking at some piece of parchment but he didn't care. He needed her now. Throughout her protests of confusion he dragged her into the living room and planted his lip directly unto hers.

It happened before she could stop it, or even realize what was going on. He was kissing her, and for reasons unknown, Hermione could feel so much more than she thought she would when kissing him. It sent a strange new feeling into her gut and it sorted lifted her up into a place she'd never been before. She felt this charge from her lips and it sent a spark all the way to her heart. His lips felt surprisingly warm and suddenly she was kissing him back. It stopped much too soon as he broke away and used her shoulder to pull him close her him in a very possessive manner.

The shock of how good her lips felt and how soft they were wasn't lost on him, but he had a point to prove now. "Mother, I'm sure your familiar with Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my mother Narcissa Malfoy. We're dating you see, and it's a very serious relationship where I'm sure she would mind if you tried to set me up with the stupid rich daughters of your close friends. So you see, I'm not going to uproot my life here to satisfy you. You're happy here with me aren't you, Hermione?"

A few seconds passed by before Hermione realized he'd directed that last bit at her. "Oh," _I get it. He wants me to play along..._ "Yes I would certainly mind if…" She lost her power. That kiss had taken a lot more out of Hermione than she would have liked. She was still on cloud nine, recovering from a jolt in the atmosphere.

"Mind if what, darling?" The same voice that had sounded so warm and full of compassion earlier was now so cold.

Hermione got the impression that she was not fooled by this little charade not even for a second. "I would certainly mind if someone took him away from me." She had never been a good actress growing up but there was something in this woman's tone that bothered her. It was irritating and it motivated her to become the devoted and concerned girlfriend in less than a minute and completely caught off guard.

Narcissa stood and slipped her coat back on. "Very well, Draco. I can tell when I'm not wanted here. However if your relationship is as real as you say it is then I should expect to see it covered across the newspaper before long."

Her words took Hermione by surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Oh my, didn't you know, Miss Granger? The courting of Hermione Granger, Golden Girl and War Hero, by the son of a Death Eater and reformed Death eater himself? A story like that should be all over The Daily Prophet." Narcissa stormed out with a knowing smile. Whatever those two kids were planning would fall through eventually, and then she would have her son back home.

* * *

That left Draco and Hermione alone in the living room, the former still a little shaken from his mother's surprise visit, and the latter seriously contemplating what she had just signed herself up for. Both were afraid to look at the other person. He was still clutching her shoulder and breathing very heavy after arguing with his mother. Hermione just wanted the moment to be over. She wanted to be able to close her eyes, open them up again and have this whole thing just be a dream to a nap she had taken while making her list about the pros and cons of giving up her virginity to a not-so-stranger.

He was the first to make a move. He let her go and looked down in embarrassment. She heard him mutter something that sounded like "thank you," before falling onto the couch with his head in his hands. "What the hell was that?"

"Are, are you all right?" She wasn't trained to handle situations like this.

"To be honest? No, I'm not." He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "Thank you for playing along back there. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't."

Hermione smiled and sat down next to him. "Well now I guess you owe me. I can't have you going back to that dark mansion she calls a home."

He managed to smile back at her for a little bit before letting the edge of his lips fall into a frown. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Will she really make you go? You don't have to do what she says anymore do you?" Where this worry for him was coming from Hermione did not know. He seemed to be genuinely upset that his mother might make him do as he's told, and for some reason that made Hermione want to assure him that it would be all right.

"Oh she will, believe you me. She's the head of the Malfoy house because of father's death and because her blood runs in my veins, I'm bound to do what she says. If she really wanted me back there she would have no problem escorting me back."

"So she's giving you a chance to prove yourself? Isn't that good news?"

"I can't expect you to do that for me out in public. You'd have to pretend be my girlfriend and we'd have to go out and have fun in the eye of the public in order to convince her that we're really together. You heard her, didn't you?"

She lifted his head up and smiled at him again. "Who says we would have to pretend?"

"What?" He was stunned by her response. "What are you getting at?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you about what happened earlier today. I wanted you to know that I'm nowhere near a place in my life where I can just sleep with a man without knowing anything about him. I want my first time and every time after that to be special. It may seem naïve to you but that's just how I feel. I won't lie and say I didn't like the attention though. I'm flattered and I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm attracted to you and I know you feel something like that around me too. But if you expect me to sleep with you based on just that, then that's where you're mistaken. If you want to be… a couple… we can try, that is, if you want to. But I can't create feelings for you out of thin air and I won't give you something you don't deserve. We would have to take things slow if this is going to work at all."

Now it was Draco's turn to wonder if any of this was really happening. "Are you sure about this? You won't mind dating a… a reformed Death Eater?"

Hermione shook her head. "That isn't really who you were back then and that's not who you are now. I know you had your reasons for doing what you did. You're a good person, Draco Malfoy, you just have a very funny way of showing it."

"How do you know all of this? What makes you so certain I won't turn on you?"

Hermione chuckled softly. "I had a good long chat with your friend, Ms. Parkinson. She gave you a thumbs up and someone that drunk can't lie so she had to be telling the truth."

"You spoke to Pansy?"

"I had to speak to someone about you after your little display of affection earlier." She was blushing madly at the memory.

"Oh." He seemed to be unaffected by her bringing it up into conversation. "Sorry about that, I guess I was still a little drunk from the night before. All right, Granger. You've got yourself a deal: we'll take things slow. But don't forget what you are getting yourself into. So where do you want to go for dinner tonight?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Evening fell over the London sky fast and Hermione found herself watching the sunset while being escorted on the arm of her unlikely companion. Her eyes wandered to the sky in an admiring fashion. The magenta tint from the sun met the dark violent shade of the sky that wood soon turn into a blanket of dark blue, an infinity of stars resting on it. Watching the night sky overwhelm the evening had always been one of her favorite things to do as a child before reading a bedtime story. Now it served as a great distraction from all the attention they were getting.

Her formal attire, which she didn't wear often, always seemed to stun the others around her. Tonight she donned a strapless navy blue, layered gown that hugged her tightly and hid her black back strap heels, and a thin black shawl to cover her shoulders. Her hair was up in a half bun swept to the left side of her head with some strands gently falling to rest on her right shoulder. But her lovely look for the night was not the only reason people were surprised to see her. She could blame the stares on several things but the most obvious one seemed to be the real reason. It was her date.

Draco was in a simple black suit-and-tie but Hermione thought he looked very handsome. His hair, blonde as ever, was combed in a formal fashion and kept in place with light gel. He was more than handsome; he was a gorgeous man. She knew it was unusual for them to be seen together and it was even more unusual for her arm to be wrapped around his. With the way they were standing it was no secret to anyone that they were out on a date. They'd passed through The Leaky Cauldron a little while ago, giving the whole establishment an uprooting. Every witch and wizard inside had stopped eating or drinking and there was an eerie hush among the crowd as they passed through. Now they were walking along the streets of Diagon Alley and Draco seemed to be in search of a specific place.

Hermione tapped his shoulder after receiving a glare from an older witch she didn't know. "Do you mind telling me where it is we're going?" it came out as a sort of whisper. His only request for her was to dress up and get cute for it. So she'd done her damndest to look the part of Draco Malfoy's fashionable girlfriend.

"We're almost there, why?"

"Malfoy, people are staring and they aren't being polite about it." Another group of girls were looking at her in awe and a few older women were beginning to whisper loudly.

"Don't you think you should call me by my first name, Granger? It won't be convincing if people don't believe we aren't familiar with each other. And they're staring because you look… you look good, Granger." Could it be that he was nervous? He wasn't used to giving compliments to anyone much less her. But it wasn't in his nature to be nervous about a girl and he didn't want to start now.

She looked at the ground for a moment to hide her blush but he could still see it out the corner of his eye. "Um, thank you. You don't call me by first name. I'm sure that the first time might have been today when you said it to your mother."

"Granger just fits you better. It's stuck on my tongue. I won't say it aloud in public because it would raise suspicion, but I like calling you that." He was admitting too much. Now he knew he was nervous. She looked absolutely beautiful; it was like nothing he'd ever seen from her. "I didn't know you owned a dress like that."

Was he trying to say he liked it on her? "I, I bought it the other day. All the rest of my dress robes are in _my _apartment, remember?"

They were both silent after that for some time until they reached the restaurant. It was a new place that had sprung up in celebration of the war's end. At the moment it was the fanciest thing that Diagon Alley had to offer for dining and coming to eat in casual clothing was a must-not. The old wealthy families and nouveau riche were coming in to enjoy a fine European cuisine and to brag about their successes since the end of the war as well. The money that came in to the restaurant went to help fixing up the rest of the alley and so far it was doing a fantastic job. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was one of the last things that needed to be repaired and Florean's daughter, Maureen, was head in charge of the assignment, still mourning the loss of her father.

Draco walked through the glass doors of the restaurant with Hermione on his arm. He led them to the hostess podium and cleared his throat at the girl before him. She was staring just as much as everyone else in the restaurant was. He could hardly believe how unprofessional she was being. "Excuse me," he said as polite as he could muster. "We'd like a table."

The hostess straightened up and apologized. "Yes, welcome to Assagio's Madalay. Is it just you two tonight?" She seemed to be asking out of curiosity more than she was asking in order to give them a proper sized table.

Hermione seemed to find her lost confidence and spoke up. "Why yes, it is just us two. We'd like some privacy from the other customers, if you can get us something like that." She'd had enough of the gawking. Now she just wanted to have a nice meal and get to know him better. It had taken her a long time to get ready and she didn't want to waste this special night standing in the foyer of a restaurant.

"Of course, Miss Granger, if you'll follow me," the hostess directed them through the main floor and onto a platform where the booths were separated by thick wooden walls of mahogany color.

Hermione scooted in and Draco followed suit, leaving enough space in between them so that her arms felt cold from the loss of contact. She didn't think she could ever feel so comfortable being that close to him. The hostess left them and told them that a waiter would be with them shortly. The inside was classically elegant and Hermione was taken aback that something this nice existed in Diagon Alley. "How did you know about this place?"

"I funded it so that it was built here. I thought you might like it. I know it's a little over the top but I wanted our first date to be special and memorable."

"Well, you did a good job. It's nice."

"You know by the time we leave, we'll have a hard time getting out of here because of all the commotion."

"What commotion?"

"The people from The Prophet taking pictures. They'll be asking questions and making assumptions. It can get pretty nasty. But that is why we're here."

Hermione was starting to wonder if this was all worth it. She never valued being in the limelight and the feelings she was getting in her gut were starting to get the best of her. "I take it people are used to seeing you and I together."

"No, they aren't. They'll have to get used to it." He put his hand on hers and she smiled back at him. Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Ron Weasley led a very simple life these days. Each morning he would wake up, find breakfast on the table and ravish at it, wash up, and then go out into the yard and play quidditch with Harry and the twins before going to help them out at the shop. In three more weeks, he and Harry would be off for five solid months of Auror field training and he could hardly wait. He'd off into the world and making his own money for the first time in his life. He made plans with Harry to stay at Grimmauld Place when they returned. Things were finally looking up after a lifetime of confusion and worry. His mind was at ease and he had practically nothing to worry about. There was one thing, but he put aside and told himself not worry about it because it simply wasn't worth the stress.

He was helping Fred and George out at the shop doing inventory while they charmed customers into buying products. Ron might have liked to persuade people to buy but he wasn't particularly good at it, and he was nowhere near as charismatic as his older brothers were. It was a hard fact to face but he was okay with that. He took out his wand and started levitating several boxes of product on the top and middle shelves when the cashier, Verity came into the back room.

"Mr. Weasley?" Verity always insisted calling them all by surname. She saw it as more professional.

Ron saw it as a chance for comparison to his older siblings. They were all Mr. Weasley and after a while he got tired of hearing it. "You can call me Ron, Verity."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Weasley. The other Mr. Weasleys have to step out of the store for a moment, and they've asked me to tell you to help out in the front, please."

It was a hard concept to grasp. They wanted him to help out in the front? "Me?"

"Yes, you, Mr. Weasley." Verity took over levitating the unopened boxes and watched him walk out of the back room.

Ron was a little confused about what was going on but shrugged it off. He straightened his work blazer and looked around the store. It was virtually empty now. The majority of their consumers in the summer were kids and Hogwarts students that couldn't come during the school year. It was just past sunset now. The clock on the wall read seven o'clock, so he took it that it was too late for children to be in Diagon Alley.

The bell for the door rang, signaling that someone was coming in. "Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I'm Ron Weas…" the rest of his name was stuck in his throat. He swallowed his thought and out his hand out for the girl to take it.

She was very pretty. Her eyes were green and her hair was a soft golden blonde. She was wearing a summer dress with a white and yellow floral print and her head just barely reached the middle of his chest. She took his hand and shook it politely. "Ron Weasley?"

"Erm, yes. Yeah, that's me. I mean, hi there."

She giggled at him. "Hi." He took a second to admire her freckled shoulders when she started looking around. Her skin looked amazingly soft and her smile was bright and warm. "I'm Bay O'Connell. It's nice to meet you."

He was once again at a loss for words so he only cleared his throat. _She has an American accent…_

"Do you think you could help me? I'm looking for one of those cute pygmy puffs. I saw one of my friends with one and she said she got it from here."

A pygmy puff? He could get her one of those. He would get her a million of them if she would shake his hand again. "Yeah they're just over here…" he tripped his way over to the display section and placed one in her hand, trying to hide his reddening ears

"Oh, it's pink! How adorable! Do you suppose I could have that purple one there? Purple is my favorite color, you know." She gushed at the little creatures and Ron took this time to admire her fully.

He gave her a purple pygmy puff and charged her a discount for it, paying for the rest of it with the change in his pocket when she wasn't looking. It had been the perfect moment to ask her out on a date and he nearly got the words out when she drew her attention outside of the store.

"What's all that ruckus over there by the new restaurant?" she pointed as she placed her new pet on her shoulder. "Are those reporters for The Daily Prphet?"

Sure enough there had indeed been a ruckus of sorts, snapping photos of something from outside the window of Assagio's Maladay. The uproar had rubbed Ron's curiosity bone and he closed shop then walked with Bay to the outside of the little bistro.

* * *

For dessert, Hermione had a small slice of devil's chocolate cake with dripping fudge and cherries cascaded all over the plate. It had looked delicious and it tasted ever better. She savored every bite, accidentally letting out a few moans much to Draco's displeasure.

He knew she wasn't teasing him on purpose. She was simply enjoying her dessert. Draco had opted out of the last course as he wasn't a huge fan of sweets. The sight of Hermione innocently and at the same time seductively eating her cake was enough sweets for him to last a lifetime. He loved every moment he got to watch her open her mouth. If he was any other girl he would apparate her back to his place, rip that dress off of her and lick her from top to bottom like a fudge pop. She was utterly radiant tonight. But since the terms of their relationship were that they take things slow and get to know each other, he knew that sex was off the table for quite some time.

This kind of exchange was foreign to him. He was used to girls giving into him just because of what he had to offer. There was something about Hermione that made him want to give into her but that something wasn't enough to squash his pure desire for her. He was having the hardest time not showing how much he wanted her. Luckily she was on the last forkful of her plate.

She set her fork down and drank a few more sips of water. "That was one of the most luxurious pieces of cake I have ever had. Are you sure you don't want any? We can stay a little longer if you want."

Draco watched her bite her lip in uncertainty and almost lost his cool. "No, I think it's time to go. Are you all set?"

She nodded and watched as he paid the bill and left a generous tip, then scooted out of the booth and tried to fix her shawl. It kept falling off one shoulder after she fixed the one before it. She was starting to get irritated when Draco stepped over to assist her.

"Here, let me help you." He ran his hand over her arms and placed the shawl at a cross over her bosom. "There, you are. Now it's perfect."

She looked up into his eyes and forgot where she was. Once again she was lost in that dreamy blue gray hue. It was almost as if he was hypnotizing her. "We'd better go now," she said after a while.

"I'm not really looking forward to this. I can only imagine what those vultures are about to say."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his and allowed her to escort him out of the door.

The moment they stepped outside it was chaos.

Witches and wizards were flashing away and they were instantly bombarded with a collection of ridiculous questions. "Draco! How long have you and Hermione been dating? Are the rumors that you live in a muggle town really true?"

"Hermione, what does Harry Potter think of you going out with an ex-Death Eater? Were you not recently dating fellow war hero and best friend Ronald Weasley? Have you been two-timing?"

"Hermione, did you ever find your parents? What would they say if they knew you're in sorts with a man would only a few months ago would be trying to kill them?"

"Draco, have you and Hermione Granger been together this whole time? Why were you hiding your relationship?"

"Hermione, is it true that you are with his child? Is that why you've come out of the dark with this union?"

"Were you not engaged to be married to Ella Wainwright, Draco?"

Draco escorted Hermione through the crowd and kept a tight grip on her, leading her as far away from the group is possible but they were being followed. It was ridiculous because some of the things they were being asked didn't even make the least amount of sense. He had been naïve to think they would ask a few questions then back off once they didn't answer. It wasn't a huge problem for him but he was sure that some of them might be getting to her. Hermione was famous for a lot of things back at school but she was mostly known for her hot temper and her ability to snap back at someone. He took a look at her face to see how she was doing. Tears is what he was expecting, instead he saw a gentle knowing smile towards the reporters.

"Are you all right? Can't you hear the things they are saying?" _Why is she smiling? It's a beautiful smile but still…_

She looked up at him mischievously. "Oh, come on Draco. Let's give them something to write about. If we don't they'll only print the lies they're telling now." She turned around fully and pulled Draco along with her.

The group of cameramen and nosy journalists hushed at her sudden movement.

"Hermione!" a voice separated the crowd and the one it belonged to revealed himself.

"Ron?" This was the last place Hermione ever expected to see him. She didn't think they would meet again so soon after their major argument, and she especially didn't expect to see him tonight. "What are you doing here?"

"Should I be asking you that? What the bloody hell are you doing here with that, that… with that ferret Malfoy?!"

The reporters continued to nap photos but refrained from asking question. It looked like a situation was unfolding without their help.

Hermione crossed her arms to her chest. "What business is that of yours?"

"Hermione… Don't you see? He's going to hurt you!"

"Don't be such an idiot, Ronald! It's none of your business who I decide to go out with."

Ron reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Hermione, please. I'm sorry about what I said to you. You don't have to prove anything to me by going out with him. Come on, let's go back to the Burrow and I can make it up to you. Just please don't let him take you away."

She pulled away from him and went back to Draco's side. "Would you just back off? You're embarrassing me in front of all these people. Why can't you see what's right in front of you? I'm with Draco now of my own free will. He asked me out properly on a date earlier today and I said yes. He's been charming and polite and the perfect gentleman." She was talking to him just as much as she was talking to the other people still lingering around to watch the scene and take notes for the next morning newspaper. "He was never engaged to that awful woman and we, Ron, were never together. So stop acting like you have some claim on me."

Draco put a nice grip on her shoulder and a smirk on his face as he led them away to apparate back home.

Ron ran over to where they had just left and shouted in frustration. "You've got to be joking…"

* * *

AN: Alas, before I was a fanfiction writer I was a fanfiction reader. It's been seven years since I started reading fanfiction. And throughout all of those years, it still bugs me to death when there is a long ass author's note and when it is bolded. I'm not going to shove my message down your throat. My author's notes won't be longer than one hundred words. Anything longer than that is misleading to the amount of words in the chapter and will be my longest one ever. That is all.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Hermione and Draco were safe and sound at home. He apparated into the living room and as soon as he let go of her she stormed off and started taking out her pearl studded earrings. She pulled her shoes off in a forceful manner and pulled her hair pins out, resulting in her hair to fall down and rest on her shoulders a little messily.

Draco thought it looked kind of sexy. She was mildly arousing when she was upset but he thought it best not to voice his opinion aloud just then.

"I cannot believe that, that idiot! How dare he show up like that and cause such a fuss? Has he no class?"

Draco scoffed. "I wouldn't say so. Stupid Weasel has to make everything about him."

"Oh, don't even get me started!" She thought about correcting him for calling Ron a weasel but thought better of it. Right now Ron deserved the insult. "He's always taking something special and ruining it! He can't let anyone else be happy if he's not. Merlin forbid I ever be happy with another man! He did the same thing to me fourth year at the Yule Ball. It took me hours to get ready for that and I was really excited about it! But, oh no, he just had to spoil it with his jealousy and his bad attitude…" she took her rant into the bedroom but lowered her voice into a mumble.

Draco followed her and started to wine down for the rest of the night. She was mesmerizing to him in that moment. It was the first time that he had been in her company and her wrath was not directed at him. It felt kind of good.

"He always does this; I just can't believe he did it again." Hermione sat down on the bed, slipped off her shawl and let it fall to the ground. She sounded sad now and a little disappointed. "We aren't even supposed to be talking to each other and he has to go and pretend that I'm making a big show of our feud by going out with you. So inconsiderate!"

Draco chuckled and sat down next to her.

She looked up and frowned at him. "What's so funny?"

He took the side of her face in his hand and brought it close to him. "You are," he whispered to her before bringing their lips together in electrifying union.

She accidently allowed a moan to slip out but closed her eyes and pushed into him further. It felt so good to just melt into him and not care about anything else. She wished everything could be as easy as kissing him.

He broke the kiss and locked eye contact with her. "Did you like the food?"

"I did like the food."

"Did you have a good time with me?"

"I did have a good time."

"Then he didn't ruin everything now, did he?" He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"No, I suppose he didn't." This was good. She was happy despite the last turn of events that became their first date. He continued to kiss her cheek and kept going down her jawline until he reached her neck. She was relaxed but she wasn't sure if she was ready to go this far with him yet. "Draco, wait."

He took the liberty of unzipping the back of her dress and keeping his hand out to unhook her bra. "Merlin, you sound so sexy when you say my name." There was little she could do that didn't turn him on. "Say it again." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"No, please Draco, slow down. I want to stop for now." She hated to do this to him. His kisses felt so good against her skin and she was getting aroused but it just wasn't the right time for her to give into him. "I want to wait a little longer. Is that okay?"

He pulled her away a little and looked back into her eyes, then placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Of course it's okay. You making me wait just makes me want you that much more." Draco stood and walked over to the door. "I'm going to shower first then go to sleep; are you sure you don't want to join me?"

She nodded and smiled at him. "Yes. I'm sure… Good night, Draco."

"Good night, Hermione."

She watched him shut the door and fell down onto the bed, releasing all the sexual tension she felt just then. It was a serious task saying no to him and she didn't know how much longer she could do it. She knew she wanted to let it all go and have sex with him but something kept getting in the way. Once that feeling went away, that's how she knew she would be ready to sleep with him.

Draco set the water in the shower then went out to transfigure his couch into a nice and comfortable bed. His next step was into the bathroom to wash away the dirt and rub off his erection. Why did she have to look so damn sexy? And she did it all without really trying, that was the worst part. If she knew how incredibly good looking she really was and started using it against him, he was sure he'd go mad before the week was out. Her lips were so pink and soft and kissable he thought he could live off of snogging her. Her skin was so warm and smooth. She was like a delicate flower that he just wanted to bury his nose into. It was going to be a long time before she was ready to do anything to serious and he knew that going in, but he was ready for a challenge. That's what was so perfect about her: she didn't want to sleep with him because of who he was or how much money he had. When they slept together it would be because she really wanted to and because she thought he was worth it. Why hadn't he realized how wonderful she was seven years ago? All that time calling her names and belittling her could have been spent snogging with her in the nearest empty classroom or n the astronomy tower after classes ended. Draco had been so stupid not to not see her worth as a woman as a boy. Well now he was going to spend the rest of his days making up for it.

* * *

The crowd dispersed just as soon as the subjects being questioned fled the scene, but two people were still rooted in their spots. Ron was devastated about what had just occurred and Bay was just as confused as he was distraught. He was staring at the spot where Hermione had just been with his knees into the ground.

She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Ron, is everything all right?"

He'd heard her, Bay and her cute American accent, but right now all he wanted to do was go back in time. He wanted to erase the moment where he had proposed to Hermione at his mother's suggestion. If he hadn't done such a stupid thing they would still be friends. They might even be dating now themselves if he just played his card right. He wanted them to be friends again.

Ron didn't want Hermione dating Malfoy! It just didn't make sense. What did make sense was her using the ferret to get back at him for being a prat. But she had clear as day told him that things weren't like that; that she was with him of her own free will, and in tow, told him that she honestly preferred Malfoy's company over his. He didn't know if he was upset because of his old fancy for her or because she was getting friendly with his enemy. Either way it hurt like hell. He stood up and brushed his knees off.

Bay gave him a sad look and tried again, "Ron, are you okay? Did you, I mean, were you and that girl there…" She didn't know how to phrase her question. She didn't know much about who he was, but she was sure that back in the store they shared a mutual attraction. What she wasn't sure about was his relationship with that Hermione girl. They didn't appear to be as close as he wanted them to be. She found herself feeling a little jealous. Over what, she didn't know. Ron was cute and his shyness in the store had been adorable. She was sure that he was about to ask her out but she just had to open her big mouth and notice the people outside. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"That girl was Hermione Granger. We used to be really good friends until I messed everything up." He sat down on a nearby bench and laid his head in his hands pathetically.

"May I ask what happened?" She honestly didn't want to know but she thought it might help him to talk about it.

"I asked her to marry me last week."

Bay felt her heart get a little smaller but the jealous feelings grew regardless. "I see… So you're in love with her."

"That's just the thing. I'm not in love with her. We were friends for a long time. We were bad friends; I was a bad friend to her. I took her for granted and messed a lot of things up for her with my jealousy. I just thought that since I was getting better at being her friend, and because we had gone through so much together that eventually we would do well as husband and wife. But I was stupid and I didn't think things through. I didn't think about her feelings and we got in a row about it and then we got into another row about the first one and our friendship fell apart just like that."

Bay stood there speechless. This whole thing was much more complicated then it seemed to be a minute ago. "Do you want her to be your friend again?"

Ron nodded with a gloomy look on his face.

"Would you like my advice?"

He nodded again.

"I think you should let go and move on. Then maybe one day when she's ready to hear you out you can apologize for being a bad friend and tell her you want things to go back to normal. That is what you want right?" Bay hoped then and there that that was what he wanted: for things to just be friendly to Hermione again.

"Yeah, that's what I want."

Bay leaned over with her hands behind her back and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. He looked up at her and she smiled to him. "I like you. Do you want to go have some fun?"

Ron felt his ears redden and just nodded at her. Upon a second glace, this girl was really too beautiful. She was kind and caring and she wanted to have fun with him of all people.

"Good. Why don't you show me around? I'm kind of new here so I don't really know my way around."

He stood up to quickly and bumped his head on the awning of the building behind him. Bay simply giggled as he rubbed the spot where he'd been hit.

"Are you always this clumsy?"

"I might be," he said with mock smugness. "Would you still like me if I was?"

Her smile lit her eyes as he took his hand and walked with him down the street. "Yeah, I still would."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Hermione couldn't sleep. There were far too many things on her mind and she couldn't relax. Her bravery in front of those reporters had surprised her as much as it had everyone else. Her decision to start dating Draco is what surprised her the most. Perhaps it was because he needed her or his mother would drag him back to that awful place she lived and make him find a wife he didn't love, or maybe it was because she couldn't fight her attraction for him and she was selfish.

It was unlike Hermione to get into a relationship with someone so quickly, much less with Draco Malfoy. Sometimes she wondered if she was doing the right thing. It didn't feel like she was doing anything wrong and she wasn't exactly hiding it from anybody. By tomorrow morning everyone would know about their relationship.

It probably looked very different from the outside of things to other people, but being with him made her feel different, like she was a new person and much better for it. Staying here with him had turned her life around and what surprised her more was how much he wanted her. A part of her wanted to invite him to stay in bed with her but she didn't want to lead him on and she didn't trust herself. He was a very good looking man when he wasn't scowling at anybody or using obscenities.

All of this felt like a very surreal dream at times, and she wasn't sure how she should deal with that. Sleep just wasn't willing to come. Her wristwatch on the bedside table said it was half past ten. On a regular night Hermione would be fast asleep by now, but her body didn't seem to know what time it was because she felt wide awake. At times like these when Hermione was a little girl, her mother would always let her go downstairs one more time and she'd make her daughter a quick bite and they'd sit in the kitchen and chat until she was done. So she hauled her comforter off of her legs and tiptoed into the kitchen to see if a late night snack wouldn't do the trick.

From the look of things, Draco had had no problems getting to sleep because his light breathing was the inspiration for Hermione's very slow movements. She didn't know if she could handle waking him up; he might try getting into bed with her again, and this time Hermione wasn't so sure that she had the power to tell him no. Her body was half exposed this time with a long sleeved button down shirt and shorts that she'd rolled over a few times for pajamas. Her long legs were there for viewing and she'd pushed the sleeves of her shirt up to her forearms as well. _If I'm quiet and slow there was no way he'll wake up right? Oh, this was such a mistake._

She looked into the cabinets that she'd just restocked and took a peek at her options. Opening the fridge would have made too much noise, although she was seriously craving a little non-fat yogurt she had to let it go. There was nothing else that she really wanted that she couldn't get without looking into the refrigerator. _This is so unfair. _If there were any chance that Draco was a heavy sleeper that would have been great. But Hermione didn't think she could afford to take that chance. She snuck back into the room and sunk back into the bed with a defeated look on her face. _Great, now what am I supposed to do_? She summoned a book from her purse and casted lumos so she could read it without straining her eyes. Until she became tired she would settle and read a little Alan Bennett, an author who wrote a few of her classic favorites.

* * *

"Do you think I should tell gran?"

Ginny shrugged. They'd had this conversation a few times but still hadn't come to a solution. They were debating now who they should tell that they were expecting a baby. "I told Hermione," she said easily. "I couldn't keep it from her; she's one of the best friends I have. And Luna knows too."

Neville was pacing back in forth in his bedroom while Ginny just sat on the bed staring at the ceiling. "So I should tell gran? What about your mum? Does she know?"

Ginny shook her head. I hadn't decided on telling her yet. They're bound to all find out eventually, but right now I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to tell too many people. I think I already know how mum would react and I don't think I like it. It could go one of two ways. She could be ecstatic or she would be furious. I'm her only daughter and her youngest so I don't think me getting pregnant so young were her plans for me."

"So we should hide it for now?" Neville was not a huge fan of secrets. "Do any of your brothers know? He'd wanted to ask about Harry too but thought it best not to bring him up.

"Oh Merlin, no. They wouldn't be able to keep quiet about it and they'd tell mum for sure."

He blinked at her. "How long should we wait before saying anything?"

She shrugged again. None of this was going to be easy and they'd find out soon enough. If only there was a way Ginny could be sure they wouldn't be angry with her for messing up. "Why don't we wait just a couple of weeks and see if we don't have the courage then? We could announce it at a Sunday dinner so we get them all down at once. It would be easier and harder at the same time. But we definitely have to say something about it before you leave."

He nodded and sat down next to her, then placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "I know this won't be easy, but I love you Ginny and I'm prepared for the worst when I'm with you."

Ginny kissed him back and smiled. He was so kind to her and he always knew what to say to calm her nerves. Being with him in all this made her feel like it wouldn't be so difficult. He meant what he said and he was too honest to lie to her about anything. "How did I get so lucky? Come on, let's crawl into bed. We only have three more weeks before you have to leave for training and I won't see you for four months, which means that I need to get three weeks of cuddling in reserves so I can remember how you feel when you're gone."

In one swift movement he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her close into him. He put a kiss on her shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair. Everything about her felt so soft. Her hair was like red velvet and it hardly ever tangled. She was perfect in his eyes. "I don't want to forget how you feel either. I'll miss you."

She made a giggle as he played with her belly button. "I love you, Neville. And I know it's all going to be okay because I have you." Nothing ever made her feel safer than being in his arms like this.

* * *

That girl made him feel so conflicted. Bay was nice, she was sweet and considerate and she was beautiful. There were even a few times when she had to swat other guys away while he was showing her around. "I'm with this guy," is what she had told the surrounding hopefuls.

Ron never thought that he would ever hear a girl say that about him. Bay was from the states. It had been obvious after hearing her voice from the first time, but the way she said California made him weak in the knees. He couldn't exactly remember at the moment where California was in the United States but he made a mental note to look it up later. He liked everything about her. No, he loved everything about her. The way her green eyes always lit up when she was talking to him, the way she smiled at him and held his hand as they walked down Diagon Alley, and the way she threw her head back as she laughed at something she thought was hilarious. She thought the things he had to say were so interesting and she thought he was funny. But Bay was too good for him, wasn't she? Surely she deserved someone more interesting. _Well, she thinks I'm interesting, doesn't she?_

He smiled as he laid on his bed in deep thought. A beautiful girl thought he was interesting and she would rather spend time with him than with the other blokes calling her out. How was he so fortunate? He made her feel like the most fortunate bloke in all of England.

Apparently they were four famous schools for magic in the states. They were all unplottable but Bay had told him the one she went to was called Saint Augustine's Academy for Magic and it was located somewhere in the forests of Vermont. She might have went to a school closer to her hometown, which he thought he remembered was called Los Angeles, but her mother wanted her to attend the best one in the country. How he ever managed to run into such a stunning young lady he would never figure out. She told him that she was here on a long holiday. Supposedly she's visiting England for a year and staying with some cousins in Muggle London. Her first time seeing Diagon Alley was with him.

His mind was full with thoughts of Bay. He rather liked it that way and he couldn't wait until he got to see her again tomorrow. They were going to go out to Hyde Park, a royal park in London, and go boating. The last time Ron had been in a boat had been his first year at Hogwarts when he and the other first years were being taken to the Great Hall. Ron was nervous, but he was happy about it.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

_**Day Nine**_

* * *

_**Malfoy gets the girl, Weasley left to grovel  
**__Last night, handsome bachelor and former Death Eater, Draco Malfoy, escorted the war heroine Hermione Granger for an evening out on the town. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, both 18 years of age, were seen at Assagio's Malady dining in a private booth while enjoying each others company, dressed very formally for the evening, (she in a navy blue mermaid layered dressed and he in black suit dress robes). The couple stayed for dessert and then he led her outside where a confrontational meeting with Mr. Ronald Weasley occurred. Mr. Weasley, also 18, tried to persuade Granger that she was making a mistake in choosing Malfoy as a suitor, and then accused her of pretending to want to date Mr. Malfoy. He also insinuated that Granger was under the effect of some kind of spell or potion; we can assume he meant a love potion. After a brief argument, in which Malfoy was silent throughout, Granger told the press and Weasley that his opinions of Malfoy were misplaced and that she was with him "of [her] own free will." Granger and Malfoy apparated away to an unknown location, leaving Weasley bitter and heartbroken in their wake. They have not been seen out together since. It can be assumed that they have been meeting in secret for quite some time, feeling it only all right to make their relationship public after the end of the Second Wizarding War._

Hermione sighed at the old article. She knew the idiots at The Daily Prophet would come to some of their own conclusion even after she had spelled it out for them what was going on. A week and a half had passed since her and Draco's first date. Every morning at eight she would wake up and find he had already left for work. Her usual routine would be to get up at six a.m. but since she was out of work for now, she figured taking a week to relax wouldn't kill her. Today was the day she'd be going to the bookstore to pick up some reading materials about becoming a healer. St. Mungo's offered a two year training course to prepare for the required test of qualification before you were officially a trainee Healer, and she knew she wouldn't need two years to prepare herself for a test. All the text books for students of the course were sold at Flourish and Blotts and today she was headed to pick them up and start reading.

While she knew she'd have no problem skipping the course and doing things on her own, she still wasn't confident that being a Healer was what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She had options in the Magic world but not many. She could work at the Ministry under a different department, but she was tired of that life and she didn't want more of the same thing. There was also the opportunity to teach at Hogwarts. It sounded nice but her expectations were very high when it came to grades and she was the only one at Hogwarts that was truly enthusiastic about getting excellent marks. If she were to become a teacher she was positive that she'd be disappointed with her students on a regular basis, and she didn't want to be upset that they were just ordinary people. Her need to excel in what she did made her an individual and there weren't many students like her. No, it was not a good idea for her to become a teacher…

Healing, teaching or working at the Ministry were her choices. Out of all three, becoming a Healer seemed to be most desirable. _All right, I can do this. If I don't like it then I can always look for something else to do. _And with that she'd apparated to Diagon Alley.

The book store was fairly empty. Only a few people stalking the shelves were found, picking books up and dusting them off before sticking their noses inside. It tended to be fairly less crowded when people weren't shopping for school supplies and the Hogwarts letters wouldn't come for another week or so. After last's fiasco she would rather not be in a room with a lot of people. She walked over to the Reference and Informational section and stopped at the shelf labeled "Medical."

The course required an eight volume set of books all by one author, M. J. Perryman, and six index and reference manuals. She was curious how much all this was going to cost her as she was unable to find a price tag. Hermione went over to the front desk and got the attention of the woman working there. "Excuse me," she said with a hand to her cheek. "Could you tell me how much those books over there cost? They don't seem to have a listed price."

The woman was short and chubby. She looked at Hermione suspiciously. "Are you reading for recreation or are you a medical student?"

Hermione had a confused look on her face. _Does that really matter?_ "Well I want to be a Healer. I'm not taking the course yet though."

"There is a twenty-five percent discount for all medical personnel with the books we have here. Have you signed up to take the course?" The women spoke so mechanically. It was a little intimidating.

"Er, no I haven't."

"Then you pay full price. All eight volumes together will cost you thirty-four Galleons, twelve Sickles, and twenty-five Knuts. The six index and reference manuals will cost you nineteen Galleons, twelve Sickles, and twenty-seven Knuts. Your total would be fifty-four Galleons, eight Sickles, and twenty-three Knuts. Those books there are for display only; are you ready to make your purchase?"

Hermione was starting to wish she had signed up for the course anyway but she didn't have two years to waste on studying for a test when she could do it by herself in a few weeks. "Well I suppose I am. It's a good thing I went to Gringott's last week…"

The old woman raised her brow at Hermione. "Please wait here for me to collect your request."

"Okay." The sooner she got out of that store, the better. She wasn't feeling welcome in this place at all. The cashier was rude and bitter towards her for no reason at all. Hermione had never met the woman before in her life, what could she have ever done to her?

While she was waiting she saw a familiar face out into the alley and called out to him. "Hey, Harry! Come in here."

Harry grinned at her, "hi there. Hermione's at the book store. Why am I not surprised?" He gave her a hug and then suddenly got very serious. "So do you want explain the article I read about you and Draco Malfoy in the paper a few days ago? Are you really meeting him in secret?"

_In a way I suppose I am since Ginny is the only one who knows I live with him now. _She rolled her eyes and stepped back in line. "Oh please, Harry it isn't like the paper made it out to be. We were out together, yes, but we have not been having this alleged affair. He asked me out to dinner and I said 'okay.'"

"So there's nothing going on between you two?"

The store woman returned and set all fourteen of Hermione's books on the counter then held her hand out for the money exchange.

Hermione slipped her hand into her purse and gave all fifty-four Galleons, eight Sickles, and twenty-three Knuts into the woman's cupped hands.

"Thank you for shopping at Flourish and Blotts. Please come again soon." Her tone indicated that she would rather Hermione never return to the store ever again.

Harry helped her put all the books into her bag, which still had the undetectable extension charm placed upon it. She walked out of the store and he followed her hen tapped her on the shoulder.

"Uh, Hermione?" he was still waiting on her to answer his question. "Just what exactly is going on with you two?"

Hermione was starting to get flashbacks of Ron asking her that same question about Viktor Krum. "Harry," she said as she strolled along the alley to get a new quill and parchment set. "You are making it out to be much bigger than it is. So what if I decide to go out with him? What's the trouble?"

"He's the trouble, 'Mione!" Why was she being so thick today? "How do you know he isn't out to hurt you?" he spoke in a hushed tone as he didn't want the people around him to hear.

"This is really not the time or place to speak of such things, and please do not call me that."

"You aren't getting out of this so easily." He stepped in front of her and took her free hand in his. "What aren't you telling me?"

Hermione sighed in frustration. "I hate to sound like a cliché, Harry, but he's not so bad once you get to know him. Draco isn't the person we all thought he was. He was just forced to be and took it too far. He is a much better person for all the things he's been through just like you and I are."

He couldn't believe the things that were coming out of this woman's mouth. "So it's 'Draco' now, is it? Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

"You're being very judgmental."

"So are you planning on seeing him again?"

"I just might."

""And if he attacks you?"

"Then I'll be ready for it. You're starting to sound an awful lot like Ron."

Now it was Harry's turn to be frustrated. "And what if Ron and I are right? Are you willing to risk everything just to get back at Ron for making you sad?"

Hermione dropped her bag on the ground and her hand shot up to her mouth to cover her shock from flying out. "Is that really how you feel Harry? That I would stoop so low over something so trivial? How can you say that?"

"Well, you did it with Cormac McLaggen at Slughorn's Christmas party!"

"That is completely different and neither here nor there! I was a child then and just naïve to think of something like that. You cannot blame me for the things I did when I was emotionally vulnerable!"

"Yeah? Well I'd say you haven't grown up much since then!"

She gasped.

He swallowed.

"Wait, let me try again. Hermione I think you're making a mistake."

She took two steps forward and got very close to his face, "you would know all about making mistakes, wouldn't you, Harry Potter?" and apparated back to their apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

_**Day Ten**_

Draco walked up the steps leading to his hallway with slumped shoulders. He was tired from almost a week two weeks of dealing with the incompetent staff of the foreign Ministries. He had the hardest time getting them to understand his meaning on their current project for international Wizarding unity and since he couldn't take the easy way out and let someone go it was the most work he'd done as head of the department in a long time.

What's worse was that he hadn't seen much of her at all recently. She was still asleep when he left for work and she wouldn't be there when he got home. He assumed that by the time she did get home he was already asleep. Draco would begin to feel exhausted around eight p.m. and he wouldn't have the energy to stay up and wait for her. For a while he supposed she might have been avoiding him. After the preposterous article written about them in the paper he was embarrassed to say the least, but there was no telling how she felt because she wasn't around for him to ask. He hoped she wasn't angry at him for what he tried that night they went out. She didn't sound upset then but women had a strange way of suddenly deciding to be angry about past events, and this he knew for a fact. She told him that she wanted to take things slow and instead of doing that he'd only thought about what he wanted. If he pushed her too much then this conquest would over before it really started.

He walked inside with a grumble and did his usual just-got-home, routine but before he could grab something to drink from the fridge he noticed an owl tapping violently on the window. _It must have been waiting for a very long time. Wait a minute, where's Hermione?_ He opened the window and allowed the owl to take refuge in his living room while he read the letter.

_My dear and darling Draco,  
I'm pleased to see that you've taken to a lovely young lady like Miss Granger. While she is not a traditional choice for a future Malfoy but I just want to see you happy. However, please bear in mind that you have obligations to fulfill. I will not allow a frivolous courting just for show. There are things here that needed to be taken care of and I would like to see you at least married by your twenty-first birthday. I understand that you do not wish to live at the Manor any longer but arrangements can be made to make a new home for you as the head of the Malfoy household. I implore you to make a decision as soon as possible with Miss Grander.  
Love, Mother_

The last thing he needed was to worry about the estate and the obligations he simply had to fulfill. Wasn't he allowed to have a life? Married by his twenty-first birthday? That left very little time to do much of anything. It wasn't fair of his mother to remind him of this huge burden he had to bear. He was just barely eighteen now and had a lot of responsibilities to think of. Getting married was not on his list of priorities now and he was sure that it still wouldn't be within the next three years. He couldn't tell the future but he was sure about one thing. _I'm not going to promise her anything now._

* * *

"Come on, please? Won't you at least talk to me?"

She turned the page of her book and ignored him.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it." Harry had been begging her for an hour now to forgive him. Unfortunately she was really good at multitasking. Ignoring him and reading seemed to come almost naturally to her.

Hermione was in the public muggle library trying to study for this test. It was the last place she expected him to find her but then she remembered how predictable she was. Volume three of her medical set seemed to go by much easier than the previous two. She was almost halfway through the book and still had no problems understanding any of the terms or the procedures. By now she could identify all two hundred fifty-six potions that needed to be kept in hospital stock at all times and she knew their purposes. Harry had come to apologize to her but she wasn't ready to hear him. "I'm busy. And if you didn't mean it then you should have thought twice about saying it."

It was now or never. He had to bite the bullet and just tell her what he was really feeling when he'd told her she was being childish. There were less than two weeks left before he went abroad for Auror training and he had no idea where they were going to place him. He didn't want to leave being in a silly fight with his best friend when he wouldn't even be able to owl her while he was away. "Hermione, I truly am sorry. I just…I was feeling a little bitter and I guess anxious because of everything that's happened."

That managed to get her attention. She was curious now. "What do you mean you were anxious and bitter?"

He groaned out a half sigh. "I'm still not really okay without Ginny. I want her back but I have to accept that she doesn't want me, at least not right now. I didn't just lose her as a girlfriend; I lost her as a friend. I don't want to lose you too and especially not to Malfoy."

"Why couldn't you just say that? Even if I decide to start dating him on a regular basis, that won't make me forget who my friends are and who I am." She understood where he was coming from because she had felt the same way when Ron had started seeing Lavender a few years back. The jealousy was kind of eating away at her and the only thing she could do to stop it was to not be near him.

"Guys aren't very good at saying what they feel, Hermione. You should know that."

"All right I have forgiven you. Now leave me alone. I need to finish this before Friday."

Harry took a look at the stack of books by the side of her chair and gawked at her a little. "Do you really forgive me or are you just saying that? And what are you studying for? I thought you already took the N.E.W.T.s a few months ago. Are you planning on taking them again to get a better score?"

Hermione shook her head. "I'm going to become a Healer at St. Mungo's and I need to take an entrance exam before I'm accepted into the program."

"Oh, that's great news." He still didn't seem convinced that she wasn't still a little upset with him. She sounded like she'd rather he not be there. "Is there a particular reason why you chose Healer?"

Hermione thought of the scars on her arm that a certain nasty witch had put there, and then thought of the scar on Draco's arm that had once been the Dark Mark. "No, no particular reason. I got sacked and I need something to do with my life. I'm not going to settle down and become someone's little wife and pop out eight of their children out of boredom. I'm a goal reaching person."

Harry sighed and stood up. "Are you sure you two can't just make up? I don't think he's angry anymore."

"It isn't about him being angry at me. I'm tired of going through this sick repetitive cycle with him. My life has been much less stressful these last couple of weeks and I'm not going to go looking for trouble."

"So say he wanted to make up with you?"

"And why would he want to do that? Ronald loves to make me the bad guy. He always has." She flipped to the next page and marveled at the moving illustration of a rather nasty treatment for an even nastier disease.

"Well he has a girlfriend now. At least I think that's what they're calling themselves. She comes over to the Burrow nearly every day and I think he's really smitten with her. He met her that day you two got in that fight in front of Assagio's."

"Oh," she muttered as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the mention of that row. "How nice for him. Tell him that I wish them all the best."

"You could tell him yourself. I think you're being a little unreasonable. He's probably forgotten all about that night. Will you come to dinner on Sunday?" Harry really needed her to be there. Ginny announced to the whole house that Neville was coming over while she pretended that Harry wasn't even in the room when she said it. It made him feel awkward and jealous but if Hermione was there she could prevent him from doing something stupid like hexing the poor bloke.

"Fine. I'm more than a little nervous after last time but I do miss Mrs. Weasley's delicious food. I can let it go if he can and I won't have any bad mouthing Draco while I'm there either."

"Trust me, there will be none of that," he assured her after giving her a platonic kiss on the cheek. Harry left the library in good spirits and wondering if he would have the strength to move on, or to even pull up enough to get through Sunday dinner.

Hermione found a good stopping place and took up her books. It was getting late in the day and she hoped that Draco would be home. It felt like they had been avoiding each other all week. The bathroom was empty but just to be safe she went into the stall and apparated into the lobby of her apartment building. The sound of her steps up the stairwell echoed off the walls and flooded her ears. Had it always sounded this lonely when she came home? Was she the only one in the entire complex? The hallway appeared to be much longer and a lot thinner; she was feeling a little claustrophobic and couldn't understand why. Was she nervous about seeing him after all this time? She decided that she definitely wanted to understand him more and she wanted him to understand her as well before moving on to the next step. She told him that taking things slow was the best and she found that she had little problems with posing as his girlfriend in front of his mother. But something didn't feel right. They went out on a date but did that really make them a couple? Were things going too fast after all?

Hermione made it through the door without passing out and considered that an accomplishment. Her tendency to overthink things must have been taking over. At the same time she felt like she wasn't thinking about things rationally. She liked Draco, or maybe she liked what he could be? Nothing was making any sense.

"Hi there, stranger." He greeted her with a sleepy undertone to his voice. "I feel like I have seen you in ages.

She smiled at him and walked into the bedroom to put her stuff away. When she turned around from the bookshelf he was behind her.

"What's all that there?" he asked pointing to the books she'd just put down.

"Oh, I bought them yesterday. I have to take a test at St. Mungo's on Friday so I've got my work cut out for me. But it's nothing I can't handle. I'm almost finished and I'm not confused about too much."

"You're going to become a Healer?" This was the first he'd heard about her wanted to do anything after he'd gotten her fired. It came as a shock.

She nodded. "Yes, I think it'll be good for me. You don't have any ex-girlfriends there do you?" she had meant that to come out in a joking manner but her voice had betrayed her yet again and it came out sounding nervous.

"Why do you want to be a Healer?" he tried to meet her eyes as he spoke but she looked down at the ground.

"I just thought that after what happened at the Manor with Bellatrix that there might be a lot of people that need my help…"

Draco took her hand into his and held it close to his heart. "I'm… I'm sorry I didn't, that I couldn't do more to help you."

"No, stop. Don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could do. Even if you'd had a change of heart and decided to do something about it she would have hurt you just as much as she hurt me. She would have called you a blood traitor and spared no mercy on you. You were just as trapped there as I was." This was what kept Hermione feeling as if something was wrong. They hadn't had this conversation or alluded to it at all since she arrived. It had to be the thing that was holding her back.

Draco cleared his throat. "So there's a scar there?" he'd avoided looking at her arms ever since that day.

She pulled the sleeve of her cardigan up and showed him. Traces of the word 'mudblood' were still etched into her skin. Her line of sight drifted over to his left arm then she looked up into his eyes, silently pleading him to show her his battle scar as well.

He obliged noticing the intensity of which she looked at him. It was daunting and it seemed like it was staring right back at her. "At least it's not… what it was before. This is much less noticeable than a… well, you know."

They both pulled their sleeves back down and looked through each other. The silence was more tortuous than Hermione would like to admit but she couldn't bring herself to say something. She wished he would say something, anything to her.

"Are you hungry?"

_What?_ She wasn't expecting him to say that. _Well I did say anything._ "Yeah, I am," she said in a whisper.

"Let's go out somewhere. It'll be just you and me."

Hermione furrowed her brows. "Are you sure? After what happened last time?"

He shrugged at her. "I'm sure the initial shock has worn down. We can stay in if you like."

"I like that idea much better. I'll make you something."

"Hm… what kind of something?" he asked in mock suspicion.

She caught on to his tone and put her hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm a good cook! I know I don't look like it but looks can be very deceiving!"

"Are you sure you're up to the task?"

She nodded and gave him a sly grin. "I suppose you'll just have to find out."

* * *

They were alone in his room and he couldn't have been more nervous. It was after dark and he had a girl in his room. Never in his life had he experienced something like this. The tension was killing him. She was sitting on his bed with her legs crossed like an angel. Her little white shirt was splayed out in a fan and her tank top strap was falling off on her shoulder. She looked like a goddess and he wanted to ravish her. They spent the day out in town walking around Ottery St. Catchpole. She said she'd wanted to see the place where he and his huge family grew up so he showed her around.

"You have such a big family. So many brothers…"

He gulped and nodded a little frantically. "Yeah. I'm the youngest son. Do you have any?"

"Any siblings? No, I'm an only child. I live close to my cousins though, so I wasn't lonely. They're about the same age I am and we all went to Saint Augustine's at the same time. We're still good friends too." Bay was starting to feel like he was too far away. She was on his bed but he was clear on the other side of the room. "Why don't you sit down next to me?"

Ron felt like he had swallowed his gut when she asked him that. "Uh, erm, all right…" He didn't want her to think that he was uncomfortable being alone with him but he kind of was. Just what she was expecting from him he did not know.

She giggled at him. "Now, aren't you more relaxed?"

"A bit, yeah."

Bay put her hand on his and gazed up into his eyes. "How much longer until your mom and dad get back?"

"Uh, not long I think. Or maybe a long while? They don't go out much but when they do they often go straight to bed when they get home." He blushed as he talked about his parents' dating habit.

"So it's just us two here?"

"Well, Ginny is at Neville's place."

She scooted a little closer to him.

"Fred and George went to their apartment above the shop."

He could feel her arm rubbing against his. Her skin was so bloody soft.

"Percy only comes over on Sundays, and Bill and Fleur left a little while ago. Charlie's still in Romania until Christmas holiday, so yeah I reckon it's just you and me here."

"And your friend Harry?"

Harry. That was a good question. He had no idea where Harry had gone off to. He left a few hours ago but Ron wasn't sure if he had ever returned. He opened his mouth to tell her but found that she already had her lips locked with his. She swung her lugs over onto his lap and pulled his body close to hers. Kissing her felt like heaven. The nervous feeling he'd had earlier disappeared and it all felt so natural. He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her a little harder. They were lying on the bed the next time he checked and she was lying right under him. That nervous feeling was back. He broke away from her.

"What? Is there something wrong?" she was worried about what she'd done. "Was I going too fast?"

"Er I just…"

Bay was really confused now. "Do you not want to?" Here she was, kissing this really sweet, really sexy guy and she was scaring him away with her forcefulness.

"No! No, that's not it at all. I've just… It's more like I have, um, more like I haven't…"

"Oh." So that's what it was. He was new to all this. "Well in that case you'd better lay on your back then."

"Why? What for?" Were they going to stop? Did she not want to anymore because he was inexperienced?

She was rolled over and got on top of him. He could feel the erection in his pants getting larger.

Bay giggled again at his worried tone. "It's okay. I'm going to help you." Her skirt slipped down her long smooth legs and she tossed it and her panties to the floor by his bed. Then she got off of him and unzipped his pants watching very carefully as he took them off. "Oh my."

"What is it?" Ron's whole face was red now.

"Nothing!" He was rather well off, and so much so that she wasn't sure he would fit. She hadn't been expecting that. She noticed what a tall guy he was but she didn't think that had anything to do with that. In her mind it was just a rumor made up by a tall guy so he could get laid. She climbed back on top of him and spread her legs a little bit. _This is going to hurt!_

He instinctively pushed his member up and she slid down on top of his and closed his eyes with pleasure as she moaned out his name.

Bay used the sides of his bed to push herself up and down on his long john and tried not to shout too loudly. This felt much better than she last remembered. It had been a long time since she had been with a guy and it was only that once time. She wasn't that much more experienced than he was but her last guy hadn't been nearly as big. She continued to grind on top of him in a steady motion while her clitoris rubbed against his pelvic bone.

His eyes were still closed but his mouth was open a little and he couldn't help the soft grunts that came out. He was having sex with an angel and that was the only way to describe it. It felt so good and tight; he thought he was going to lose it any second from now.

She sensed he was going to let it out soon and gripped his shoulder. "Don't," she instructed. "Not yet. Hold on as long as you can; I'm almost there!"

He wondered what she meant but almost there but tried his hardest to hold back anyway. Her tight hold on his shoulder made him feel much closer to her. He didn't know much about what she was doing but trusted her judgment. _I think I'm in love._

She bucked her hips into him a few time and sighed very loudly while arching her back. He took this as a signal of some sort and released everything he was holding back. She moaned as his hot seed filled her up and fell down on top of him. They were panting for a while and Ron was very afraid to say anything, thinking it might spoil the moment. What he really wanted to say was "thank you," but he was unsure how she would take that. He was extremely grateful to her though.

"That was amazing. Are you sure you've never done that before?"

He shook his head no and started planting kisses on her shoulder.

"Do you want to do it again?" she asked cautiously.

"Bloody hell," he breathed out. "Sure..."


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I should have mentioned this earlier but in this fanfiction Fred didn't die… the way a certain someone killed him off was totally stupid. To see my disclaimer you can go to my profile page. Also there are other goodies there like summaries for stories to come and an occasional poll. I love you readers, by the way.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

_**Day Twelve**_

The palms of her hands were clammy and sort of sweaty. She felt strange in her own skin and she was glad she had turned Draco down when he asked if he could go with her. He wanted to support her and that was fine, but having cold, wet hands was not her idea of romantic. The mannequin inside the Purge and Dowse Ltd, was making her uneasy. All she had to do was go up to it and tell it that she wanted to get into St. Mungo's and then she could be on her way. The model was standing there on the side though, just mocking her, boasting that she didn't have the guts to go in. She looked down at her arm and thought of Draco. _This is much bigger than I am. I can do this._ With that, she spoke to the dangling dummy and stepped inside the window, hoping no one saw her do that.

The old brick building on the outside was now an incredibly large hospital. Hermione stood in the reception area and took everything she saw into observation. If all went well then she would be working here in this huge place, making other people who were hurt feel better and getting her hands on the research materials she needed to erase her and Draco's battle scars. She smiled and walked over to the Welcome Witch.

"Hi there, miss. Welcome to Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. My name is Betty. What can I do for you today?" Betty was a petite woman with bright blue eyes and long soft blond curls. Her voice was high pitched and she had a chipper attitude. She reminded Hermione of a talking doll she once owned a very long time ago.

"Um, my name is Hermione Granger and I'm here to take the exam for the trainee Healer entrance program. Could you tell me where to go?" _There, see? That was easy, wasn't it? It was a little embarrassing but still easy._

"Why sure there, honey. I could help you get where you need to go. Boy, you are right on time. The test prompt starts in ten minutes. If you walk down that hallway to your left, you'll find the elevator. Go up to the fifth floor and head into the room right across from the elevator. It's room five-oh-five. There should be other people taking the test waiting in there." Betty checked the watch on her wrist. "Oops, you'd better hurry! Best of luck to you!"

Hermione waved a thank you and scurried down the hallway. The instructions she gave were very detailed for which Hermione was grateful. But that woman was so very annoying it made her want to throw up. When she got to the elevator doorway there were two other people waiting for it and the "up" button was already lit up. Both of them were girls who looked to be about her age. One of them was a very mousy looking girl who donned glasses with circular frames and had short brown hair. The other girl looked extremely confident. Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot patiently waiting for the elevator to arrive while chewing a piece of gum.

The mousy girl looked up at Hermione and gasped. "Oh my goodness, you're Hermione Granger!" Her voice was kind of squeaky but it was pleasant in an endearing sort of way. "Are you here to take the exam as well?" Hermione nodded as the mousy girl walked up to her and shook her hand. "You don't know me. I'm Luanne Harper. Oh, you've been a huge role model for me ever since my first year at Hogwarts! You were in third year when I came along. I always wanted to introduce myself. All the professors were so fond of you and your genius. I can't believe I finally get to meet you!"

"Um, thank you." Hermione felt very flattered and self-conscious. This girl was two years younger than her? Shouldn't she still be at Hogwarts?

"You have inspired me so much! Last year when the Death Eaters took over Hogwarts I left the school just like you did, only I spent my time studying for my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s while I was away. I just finished those tests earlier this week," Luanne beamed. "Youngest student ever to graduate from Hogwarts! Of course it's only because of the Ministry allowing people who missed the year the opportunity to catch up. I'm sure if you had the chance you would have graduated a long time ago!"

"You're too kind, Luanne." It was nice to be appreciated every once in a while but this girl was kind of overdoing it. She was definitely a mini-Hermione and that kind of scared her. _Was I this annoying a few years ago?_

"Lulu, would you knock it off?" said the other girl waiting. "You're making her feel weird about being here and you'll drive her away, you will. Sorry about her, she's just very eccentric. She's dreamed about talking to you and shaking your hand for a very long time now. I'm Jess Harper, Luanne's cousin."

"Nice to meet you." Hermione was even more grateful now that Jess had stepped in to stop the praise fest. "Are here for the test too?" she asked Jess.

"Oh, Yeah. I've wanted to be a Healer at Saint Mungo's ever since I was a little girl. They only admit four trainee Healers per year, one per each ward of the hospital and only twelve medi-witches, three per each ward. There's always about sixty applicants every year and a lot of people end up disappointed. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time and I can hardly wait to blow everyone out of the water."

"There's that overconfidence again," Luanne joked.

"Oh, be quiet you. I've got this in the bag. Hey, Hermione, how come I didn't see you at the prep course or any of the cram sessions?" Even Jess knew what a bookworm Hermione Granger was and how much she'd loved being an excellent student, so it was weird not to see her in any of the classes that would ensure she'd pass this test.

The elevator came down and all three girls stepped inside. Luanne hit the "five" button and went into the corner excitedly.

"Er, well to answer your question, I only just thought of becoming a Healer a few days ago and a two year course would just be wasting so much time. So I bought the texts required for the course and got to reading, something I do best." Jess's confidence was making her feel not so good about herself. Was skipping the course a mistake? She successfully conjured up the list of potions and spell work needed to treat internal maladies.

"That's right, Hermione! Wasting time is simply not an option, not for super determined people like us!" Luanne was on her side one hundred percent and considered herself to be Hermione's biggest fan.

The elevator came to a halt and opened its doors to allow the girls access to the fifth floor. They all walked out and entered the test room. Inside it, Hermione figured, were about eighty witches and wizards, all trying to pass this test. _So the four people with the highest test scores become trainee Healers? Fantastic. _She took a deep breath and took a seat in the front by a boy with sandy blond hair and a very nice smile while Luanne sat right behind her. He reminded her of Gilderoy Lockhart the way he grinned at her flirtatiously. Hermione blushed and looked away. _He doesn't look like he's taking this exam very seriously._

"Hi, I'm Chase." He threw her a toothy grin and bobbed his head up.

_He is totally hitting on me!_ "Hermione, pleased to make your acquaintance." She shook his hand and took a quill out of her bag.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine. So, what floor are you trying to work on? I call dibs on the fourth, that's spell damage, you know." Chase looked like the kind of guy that would hit on any girl that walked into the room and then try again at the next one when he got rejected. Hermione was sure that's why her seat was empty when she got there. Girls probably went to sit down, became repulsed by him coming on too strongly, and then they would change seats.

She sighed blissfully. "Actually I'm fond of the ground floor with artefact accidents." It was a great relief finding out he wasn't trying to work on the same floor she was. This guy was a total creep. He was cute but that didn't make up for it.

"Damn, better luck next time. Or maybe you could give me your address and I could stop by sometime." Chase wasn't willing to give up so easily. This girl was kind of hot and if she wasn't interested she wouldn't be blushing so much.

Luanne tapped her shoulder and Hermione turned around as quick as she could to break eye contact with Chase.

"Really, Hermione? What a coincidence! I want to be a medi-witch on the first floor! Hey, if we both pass then we'll be working together. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, Luanne, that'd be great." Luanne might have been a bit too enthusiastic about some things but she was a much better option than Mr. Hey-can-I-get-into-your-pants next to her.

"Oh, please call me Lulu. Just about everyone does."

Hermione gave the girl a soft smile and turned back around. The head testing chaperone had arrived and he closed the door. With a flick of his wand the chalk at the board began to write and eighty-five quills appeared on the desks. "Welcome to the exam. As you all know, we're only taking eighteen people this year as we do every year we hold the test. If you don't get one of the top eighteen scored then you'd better try again next year. Since next year is the last year we'll be holding it until eight years from then, you'd better hope it's you that passes. Put everything away, read the board and then get started. Once you finish you may leave. Make as little noise as possible. There will be no need for ink as all your quills are magically refillable. To prevent anyone from having to get up and put your test papers away this tray up here will collect them as soon as you finish. Proceed." He flicked his wand again and test papers appeared on all the desks.

Hermione put her own quill away and looked at the words on the chalk board. It said she had an hour for each section and there were four section. If she didn't finish the section before time was up then the test paper with that section on it would leave her desk regardless. She looked at the labeled tray on the front table and saw that it said the words "test papers." With one last deep breath Hermione read the first question and began scribbling down answers.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

There was a tightly sealed white envelope in her hand and she was sitting on the couch, staring at it when he got home. Fridays were a little easier on him than the other four work days of the week so he came home early hoping to see her with a smile on her face. She looked like she'd just been told that her cat died and her best friend moved away all in the same moment. For a while he was afraid to approach her when she looked like that. He was afraid to move from his spot lest he disrupt the trance like state she was in now. He did his home from work routine and he was ready to go over to her and tap her lightly on the shoulder but then she noticed he was home.

Hermione set the envelope down on the coffee table and stood up in order to greet him. "Hi," was all she said.

Draco pointed at the discarded item with a questioning look in his eyes. "Hi. What's that there?"

"Oh that? That's nothing really. It's just the results of my test." She rubbed her arms, fighting off a cold chill and walked over to him. There was a small amount of space between them when she stopped. _If I push up on my tip toes then our lips will meet,_ she thought whimsically. "How was work?"

He was at a loss. "So we're just going to ignore it?"

Hermione nodded to him. "Answer my question. Hurry, I want to take my mind off of it."

"Work was fine, why? Did you do poorly?"

"No. I don't know. I'm avoiding it right now. I want to talk about something else." Why didn't he get that she didn't want to think about the stupid test results? She walked into the bedroom and whipped her wand out.

Draco picked her results up and took a good look at them. The seal of the hospital was on the top left corner of the envelope and her name was written in a pretty elegant scrawl. When he walked in his room she was rearranging the books on his shelf with magic. "What are you doing? You should want to see this."

"I do want to see it. I'm nervous."

"Why?" he asked with a bewildered tone to his voice. "You're the smartest and most bookish girl I've ever met. Why would you be nervous about test results? You probably broke a record…"

She turned to face him and dropped her wand on the bed. "What if I did miserable?" Hermione felt like she was going to cry. "There were people there who have been preparing for this test since two years ago and probably more than that! Who am I to think that I can just waltz in after a few days of reading and get accepted? They only take eighteen people per year, Draco. What if I'm not one of them?"

He let out an exasperated sigh and took a few steps to be closer to her while tearing open the letter and taking the single piece of parchment out. "You of all people do not have to worry about not getting accepted. Why would that ever be an issue? Listen to me," he took her chin into his hand and lifted her face to meet his face. "Look at me. There isn't a person alive that could best you on an exam. And you have to believe me when I say that because I know from experience. I tried so hard to beat you in school and you were easily the best in every class."

"But Draco, there was this girl there that looked and acted like she could do better than me with her eyes closed. And her cousin was completely infatuated with me, like beating me on this would be the highest honor."

He chuckled lightly. "I'm sure they didn't mean it that way. They were admiring you; it's hard not to admire you, Granger. You're one hell of a witch."

Hermione's eyes were beginning to water. He sounded so sweet and sincere. This was a side of Draco Malfoy that she never thought she'd see. It was scary and refreshing and it turned her on a little to see him take charge of her like this. "Do you really mean that?"

"I wouldn't have wasted my breath if I didn't. I'm going to read it now and tell you what it says." He let go of her chin and lifted the paper up to his face.

"Wait! Don't tell me what it says!"

"Oh, come on Granger."

She looked down at her feet and mumbled, "I want you to do something else first."

He lifted her face up again. "I thought I told you to look at me. And what might that something else be?"

She tumbled into him and pushed her feet up on her tip toes. Her lips crashed into his and she could taste a little tear as it fell down her face and into the crevice of their lips. He tasted so unbearably sweet. It was the forbidden fruity tang that she had been craving ever since their date and it sent her over the edge. Hermione opened her mouth and little and relished as he slipped his tongue inside and caressed hers aggressively. His tongue was warm and it moved so freely around hers that she couldn't help but think of his tongue doing other things to sooth her; like licking the fire out that had formed in her lower region. Why she hadn't let him snog her before was beyond her own reasoning. He was utterly fantastic. As she broke away, he placed a firm kiss on her lips again and whispered into her ear.

"Congratulations Miss Hermione Jean Granger for passing, with flying colors, into the Saint Mungo's trainee Healer program." He pulled her into his embrace. "I told you. That. You. Would. Be. Amazing," he said in between kisses on her forehead. "You would do well to listen to me more often."

The smile crept onto her face. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

* * *

He took her out in celebration of her success and Hermione found herself experiencing déjà vu. There she was, sitting at a table in a semi-casual restaurant, wearing a pale pink summer dress and white heels, trying desperately to ignore all the whispers around her. This time Draco had taken her to a muggle place but some wizards were known to frequent here occasionally. The only upside was that the Daily Prophet reporters wouldn't risk coming here and asking them questions with all these muggles around. It was hard to tell who was magic and who wasn't around here.

Draco put his menu down and sighed. "Are they bothering you? We can go back home if you want."

That was the funny thing about Draco. She noticed that he always called it "home" for the two of them. Well they spent enough time at the other's place so they might as well just make it official and move him in. Or she could move into his place. The thought was absurd. SHe'd only just come o terms that they were an item after all. Their relationship was budding but it wasn't that serious that she could consider actually moving in with him. _Well actually, I already live there and he already lives there. It's like our two doorways are a waste of space._ She quickly disregarded her thoughts. He was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hello, Hermione? Did you hear me? Do you want to stay or go?" The girl was staring off into space but looking right through him. He waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, no it's fine. We can stay. They don't seem to want to say anything to us. I just don't fancy being treated like an endangered animal."

"Of course if we went out more often this might not be much of a problem…"

She gave him a look that said "whose fault do you think that is?"

"What? Don't look at me like that. You were just as busy as I was this last few weeks." He put his hand on hers on top of the table and kissed the back of it. "But I plan on seeing a lot more of you these days, Mistress Healer."

Hermione blushed at his innuendo. "Come one, people are looking at us. They'll talk."

He shrugged his shoulders and let her hand go. "So let them talk. I want them to see."

Her blush increased and she hid as much as she could behind her menu. "Quite possessive, aren't you?"

He knew just what to say to get her all worked up and having power like that made him want her even more. The way she tried to hide her face from him now was childish but he found it adorable. She had a power over him too and in all honesty he didn't mind that at all. "How much do you think you like me?" he asked casually.

"What?" Her face was flustered. Everyone around them must have thought she was thinking something dirty. "Why would you ask me a question like that? What are you thinking?"

Before he could answer her the waitress came over and took their order. Hermione was having a stuffed bagel bowl and Draco had a chocolate chip scone. She took their menus and it forced them to look at each other. Hermione suddenly became very nervous and put her eyes on the table adjacent her date. A man was sitting alone at the table. He looked to be staring back at her, and it was in that moment that she recognized who he was and groaned on the inside.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Draco turned his head to see what she was stressing about. "What? Do you know that guy?"

"No, no! Don't look at him! Oh, it's too late… He's coming over now." She unconsciously ran her hand through her high pony tail. "Okay, just don't look directly at him. He's a little…"

"A little what?"

His arrival interrupted her explanation. "Well if it isn't Hermione Granger. You know once you left the exam room in such a hurry after you finished, it was then that I realized you were." She didn't say anything to him so he felt the need to reintroduce himself. "It's me, Chase Diesel. From the exam?"

Hermione didn't know what to do so she feigned just now remembering him. To be honest she wanted him to just walk away and never speak to her again. "Right, Chase… How silly of me to forget. Draco this is Chase. Chase this is Draco Malfoy," she droned out mechanically. She didn't even bother standing up to introduce them.

None of that mattered to Chase because he just pulled up a chair and sat in between Hermione and Draco, completely ignoring that he was there. Chase put his elbow up on the table and used his arm to hold his head up. "So Hermione, got any plans for tonight?"

She couldn't believe how thick this guy was. The two of them were clearly already on a date. "Uh now that you mention it, I'm actually in the middle of something now. Draco and I are celebrating my passing the test."

Chase looked from Hermione to Draco and back at her. "You mean to say that you're seeing this guy? Are you for real?"

Draco stood at Chase's comment. _What a prat!_ "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave now, she said she doesn't want to go out with an idiot like you."

Chase stood up as well, causing his chair to fall with its back on the floor. "What did you just say to me? he shouted. "Just who are you calling an idiot? Besides, if I was an idiot like you claim I am then I wouldn't have gotten hired by St. Mungo's today. I had one of the top four scores after all."

Hermione gasped at them. They were causing a huge scene to erupt and that was the last thing she wanted. With this going on and a few witnesses they'd be in the morning paper for sure. "Draco, please. Sit back down!"

"Humph, hear that Drakie-boy? You'd better do as she says. You know I don't ever think I've met such a guy as whipped as you are. Dying his hair, doing whatever the misses says. Go on, go along…" Chase took his smug and walked over to the bar, begging Draco to follow him and do something about what he'd said.

"What did you say to me, you moron? Dyed hair? Everyone with a lick of sense knows my hair color is a trait of being a Malfoy. You should be so lucky to look as good as I do!"

And there was that class A Malfoy arrogance. "Draco! Let's just go, I'm not hungry anymore." Hermione took his arm and pulled his away so he wouldn't get into any trouble. There were enough people out there who thought he was a bad guy. If he fell for this idiot's trap then people would completely misinterpret the scenario. It was obvious who would come out to be the one who started it all, with his reputation. She dragged him halfway to the door before he let it go and took to her direction. "Just ignore him, please Draco. He's just trying to get a rise out of you. He only growled lowly and continued to glare at his competition while walking away. Hermione took his hand and gave him a pleading look. She was very nearly on the verge of tears. This isn't how she wanted her second date with him to go. It seemed like every time they went out someone had to ruin their good time. It was like the world, not even her best friends, wanted to see her happy, at least not happy with Draco.

He apparated into the building, taking Hermione as a side along, and stormed his way up into the living room where he really let all the fumes out. "Who does that little prick think I am?"

Hermione stumbled after him. She really did hate side-along apparition. It made her feel so queasy. "Don't worry about him. He was just some guy I met when I went to the hospital. He isn't important."

Draco was pacing back and forth. He was so angry that it didn't even bother him that his shoes were being scuffed on the couch every time he turned. "How did he think he could get away with talking to me like that? I can't – I don't even know what to say about him!"

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Then don't say anything about him. He doesn't matter." Talking about it was only making Hermione feel worse about the whole thing. Why Draco couldn't just let it go was understandable, but they weren't having a very good track record. Each time they went out together, some poor bloke had to come out of his way and ruin it. How they were ever going to have a real relationship was beyond her. She looked up at Draco and saw he was stilling fuming mad. "There's nothing I can do to convince you to forget it, is there?"

It was like she hadn't said a word to him. He was in his own little world of pure hatred for the fellow and there was nothing Hermione could do or say to bring him back to the real world of right now.

"Okay, well I'm going to go home and lie down now… This day has been rather exhausting and I'm not sure I can take much more of discussing it." She made her walk of disappointment to her place and he still ignored her. _Men are so incredibly dramatic. I don't think I would believe that even happened if I hadn't just seen it with my own eyes._


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

_**Day Thirteen**_

It was a lonely Saturday afternoon and he was home alone without an answer to his problem. If Hermione was true to her word then she'd be leaving tomorrow to go stay at her parents' house until she could get back into her own apartment. Draco didn't like that very much at all. He was sitting at the kitchen bar and looking down at his mother's last letter. Her desperation was leaking off the page so much that he could practically smell it. How dare his mother act like this was all so easy? He couldn't just propose to Hermione that she marry him. The last time a man had proposed to her prematurely it had ended their friendship. It wasn't clear what kind of relationship he had with her but he certainly didn't want it to end. There was nothing pleasant about this situation.

In his mother's eyes it was simple: ask the girl to marry him and save generations of family money so that they could continue to live comfortably. Draco never asked to be made the heir of anything, so why did it all come down to him? His parents couldn't have had another child? The way he saw it they were too young to get married now and they didn't know each other well enough to even consider asking her. He didn't even know how she really felt about him. If she left tomorrow, whatever it is they had could end with their living arrangement.

He wished he could ask her now to stay but she had went to the hospital to start some briefing and training protocols, some bloody thing like that. If he asked her to stay would she say yes? Would he really miss her that much that he'd be crushed if she said no?

There was a knock on his door so he lazily lifted himself to go answer it. It was rare for him to receive visitors so he assumed it was the little red head for Hermione. When he swung it open he found someone he hadn't seen a while, the elusive and hardly ever sober, Pansy Parkinson. "Well would you look who it is? What are you doing here?" he stepped aside so she could pass through.

Pansy sat on the bar stool dumped her bag on the ground next to her. A muggle neighborhood was the last place she ever expected to find Draco Malfoy. "I could ask you the same question."

Draco took his seat back next to her and offered her a drink. When she shook her said no he was taken aback. "Ah come now Pansy, why not? Isn't this what you live for these days? To get plastered in Hogsmeade and waste all that money you have sitting in your vault?"

She took a letter out of her purse and put it on the counter. "Well I'm not in Hogsmeade now, am I? You're being cruel to me, Draco. I came to see you on your mother's orders and I decided to not be such a drunk from now on: it's bad for my reputation."

He scoffed at her last comment. "Oh so is that how you found out where I lived? What does mummy dearest want from you now?" Draco let his head sink into his hands and sighed. "Why won't she leave me alone?

She glared at him. "We used to be friends. Whatever happened to that? And you very well know why she won't stop bothering you. This very serious stuff."

"Oh yeah, so serious. So what did she ask you?"

Pansy cleared her throat and recited a section from the letter. "'Pansy, I know you don't see much of my son anymore but I was hoping you could make him see the severity of the situation we are in. You two were always close, even before Hogwarts. There is no better wife for Draco in my opinion and I strongly advise you make him see that.' The rest of it is more of the same. Why is she asking this of me? I thought you and Granger were deliriously happy? Why can't you just ask her for her hand and be done with it?"

"I don't know what we are. The public has made whatever it is we are into something much greater than what it is. I don't know what she expects from me and I don't know what to do. Besides my mother obviously prefers you to anyone I decide to see on my own. When did you get that letter?"

"Just this morning. You know she came to see me personally at The Three Broomsticks?"

"Who, my mother?" His mother would never be caught dead in a low-level place like that. If she was this serious about persuading Pansy then Draco had underestimated her.

"No. It was your little girlfriend. She asked me a few weeks ago if you and I had ever shagged and what I thought of you. I don't remember much of what I said but it couldn't have been anything bad. She left looking pretty confident I think. Do you really like her? I mean really, Draco. This isn't just some passing fancy?" It was hard for her to ask such things from him because a part of her still held him in her heart. She wanted more than anything to cast that part of her in the garbage.

"It's more than just a passing fancy. I know that much. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck with for the rest of my life but I can't say she feels the same way. We're barely a couple. We just live together and the two times we've gone out were total catastrophes. I hardly know anything about her; I couldn't propose to her."

"Have you shagged her?"

'"What? No."

"Do you want to?"

"Of course I want to! I'd be an idiot not to want her."

"So why don't you?" Draco was never the guy to drag out his fancies. If he wanted something he took it. "Why are you acting like such a… such a…"

"Such a pansy?"

"Oh, shut it. Just answer my question."

"Because she wants to take things slow."

Pansy's mouth dropped open. He had to be pulling her leg. "Then why are you wasting your time?!"

"I told you I like her more than that!" Draco stood up and started pacing around the room. This really was too sour a subject for him to talk about. "I don't want her to think I'm not capable of waiting for her! She's the Gryffindor princess for crying out loud! She's too good for me. I think about her all the time. She's ruined me! But I don't want to be with her just because it's going to solve all my problems. I wouldn't want to drag her into it."

She shook her head in disappointment. This is what Draco Malfoy had been reduced to? "That's called 'love,' Draco and you've already dragged her into it. You have to make her see that what you feel for her is real enough to drive you insane."

"It doesn't matter! She'd never marry me; I'm no good for her. I don't deserve her."

Two years ago Pansy would have killed for him to be saying these things about her. To hear him say it about a girl who was once their enemy had caused her heart to wretch a little. "Try telling her that. Reverse psychology and whatnot, she'll be stuck on you like sap to a tree."

He shook his head and sat back down. "I don't want to trick her. I want her to see it on her own."

"You poor, poor creature you… If only there was a way she could simply fall in love with you and magically see how great you are." Pansy picked her bag up and made her way to the door.

"Love potions are for cowards. I'm no coward, Pansy."

"Then prove it, Draco! Prove me wrong and just do something about this because I am tired of getting owls about you!" she slammed the door and left him there with his thoughts.

* * *

Hermione was overjoyed. This first day of training was putting a real smile on her face. Everything she learned and all the things she was seeing made her feel as if she made the right decision in becoming a Healer. It was all so interesting and her mind was in this constant state of stimulation. It seemed like this was the perfect career for her and that St. Mungo's needed her just as much as she needed to be here. Hermione was the last person in quite a few years to pass the test for the first floor. The Healer-in-charge was the last one to do it.

His name was Richard Tanaka and he'd just been promoted after being a trainee for four years. He was a very good looking man, with dark brown curly locks and kind brown eyes covered by a black set of square glasses frames. He was tall enough that he towered over Hermione significantly but he was very easygoing with her. Today he was showing her around the ward and telling her about each patient on the floor. Hermione found his voice to be very soothing.

"So how are you finding things here? Am I going too fast for you?" They had just stopped in the break room for a quick cup of coffee. The break room was small with only two tables and a couple of chairs but there was counter space and the coffee machine wasn't broken, so Hermione wasn't going to complain.

"No, I really like it here. Everyone has been really nice. I don't think I'll have a hard time adjusting at all." She sat down across from him and smiled. They had a real connection and it was fairly easy to talk to him. She had always thought Healers to be so serious all the time but Richard had proved that not to be true in the slightest.

"That's good. You went to school at Hogwarts right?" When she confirmed with a nod he continued. "Yeah, I was there too. Of course I'm a few years older than you so it's natural that we didn't see much of each other, but I do remember you."

His words had taken her by surprise and she almost choked out her coffee. "You do? No, you're joking again aren't you? I won't fall for it this time." Earlier he had managed to convince her that staring into Betty the Welcome Witch's eyes for too long would hypnotize you. Normally she wouldn't have fallen for a joke like that but the way he had said was so serious without a hint of hilarity in his voice.

"I do remember you. In fact I remember the night you were sorted with all the other first years. Your hair was all bushy and your teeth were kind of big for your face. You grew up nicely, by the way."

Hermione blushed. She never thought of the days when her appearance was frightening anymore and his compliments were throwing her off her guard. "Thank you, I think."

He stood and gestured for her to follow him. "I meant it as a compliment, I promise."

"Sure. So where are we off to now?"

"There's a woman in room one forty that was put into a coma after her boyfriend put a ring on her finger. Her name is Elaine Thomas and her boyfriend's name is Greg Dimply. He says he has no idea why it happened but until we find out where the ring came from, there's nothing we can do to help her. He's been emotional about her admittance all week and we haven't been able to get a word out of him. I was hoping since you're here now that you could give it a go."

As they trotted down the hallway to meet the patient and her boyfriend, Richard's arm kept rubbing up against Hermione's. It was unintentional, that Hermione was sure of, but it sent a tingling feeling to her gut. He didn't seem to notice it and if he did then it didn't bother him. Then she knew she was making too big a deal of things again. An attractive and successful young man, who happened to be her boss, was in close proximity with her and it was making her uncomfortable. It hadn't been the first time in her life that someone's looks and personality had intimidated her but she had no idea what to do about it now. She couldn't exactly avoid him; he was her boss so she would see him every day. Hermione took a step to the side to put some space in between them. It wasn't much of a solution because the hallway traffic was often very heavy. Today was a slow day so she could manage putting a few inches between them. He looked down at her and smiled before he held the door open for her and escorted her inside. Obviously her moving away from him hadn't bothered him at all, so why was she stressing about it?

Inside one forty was a woman lying totally still in bed. She looked to be around twenty five and her blonde hair was framing her round pale face. Hermione thought she looked like a sleeping beauty. Her boyfriend was in the chair by the bed just weeping at his poor girlfriend's side. Richard motion for Hermione to start talking then left the room.

"Mr. Dimply?" said asked softly. The poor bloke looked distraught. He must have been feeling like he was entirely at fault that she was like this. "Mr. Dimply, my name is Hermione Granger and I'm the trainee for this floor."

Dimply quieted his sobbing a little and wiped his eyes. He stood up to greet her, "how do you do, Ms. Granger?" His voice was shaky and nervous. "Do you know what's going on with my fiancée?"

"Well, do you think you could tell me what happened to her? What was she doing before she passed out?" Hermione took her clipboard out and began scribbling notes.

"Okay… Well Elaine and I were in her kitchen and she was washing dishes. I was right behind her and on one knee. I asked her to turn around and say 'yes' already. We hugged after she said yes and then I kissed her and slipped the ring on her finger. Less than a minute later she was unconscious! I caught her before she hit the floor and brought her straight here!" He broke back into tears and sat down in his chair again.

Hermione took the chair next to him and tried to calm him down. "There, there, it's all right. We're going to find out what happened. Could you tell me where you bought the ring?"

Dimply shook his head no. "I didn't buy the ring. I got my best friend Harold to buy it for me. I was nervous and shy and he said he would take care of it. He said he knew the perfect place to get the best ring for her. Why? Do you think that's why she won't wake?"

Hermione solemnly nodded her head. "Yes, I'm afraid that right must have been cursed. Have you tried taking it off?" She watched as he cautiously lifted Elaine's hand and slipped the ring off of her finger.

The color slowly seeped back into her face and her eyes fluttered open. She moaned and put her hand to her forehead while sitting up on the bed. "Greg?" she looked around and noticed where she was. "Greg where are we?"

Greg Dimply let the ring hit the ground and took her into his embrace, leaning over the side of the bed. "Oh, Elaine, you're awake! You're alive!" He kissed her forehead and hugged her tighter.

"What happened to me, Gregory? Why am I here?"

Hermione watched in admiration as the lovers reunited. It was so sweet and innocent yet Hermione sensed some foul play. "Elaine Thomas?"

Dimply let her go but sat on the side of the bed and took her hand. "This is Ms. Granger, sweetheart, she's going to tell you all about what's going on."

"Ms. Thomas, I'm afraid the ring your fiancé bought was cursed. When you put it on your hand the dark magic was activated. Whoever bought it intended to hurt you, which is why you passed out and stayed unconscious. You've been here for four days now."

"Oh my… Gregory Dimply, you bought me a cursed ring?! Why would you try to hurt me when all I've ever done is love you? I thought we meant something to each other!"

This had to be the most awkward moment of Hermione's lifetime. But she was sure that working here would grant her many more of these moments.

"Elaine, wait, please I didn't mean to hurt you! I didn't buy the ring! It was Harold! Harold got it for me!"

At the mention of the other man's name, Elaine's face paled one more. "You… You told Harold that you were going to ask me to marry you?"

"Yes, I did! He said he'd known you since you were in diapers and that if anyone could find a ring for you that it would be him. I'm sorry darling, I was too nervous to get it myself." He hung his head down in shame.

"Mr. Dimply, could I ask you to leave so that I may check on Ms. Thomas and ensure that she's all set here?" Hermione sensed that something was wrong and she was going to find out what it was. Not to mention that she still had to know exactly where the ring had come from. She shut the door on Dimply and gave Elaine a look that said, "Explain." "So what can you tell me about this Harold character?"

This time it was her turn to hang her head shamefully. "He's an old friend of mine and Gregory's. We've all known each other since school but I grew up with Harold. He and I have been seeing each other behind Gregory's back for a few months now. I tried to tell him that I'd had enough of it and I wanted out but he would convince me every time to let it go." Elaine began to cry into her hands. "I told him last week that Harold and I were getting more serious and that he needed to back off or I wouldn't hesitate to hex him should he try to get near me, but he told me to watch out for myself and that he didn't need to be near me in order to hurt me. I thought he'd meant that he was going to tell Greg about us; I never thought he would actually try to kill me!"

Hermione felt disgusted and uncomfortable Elaine's story. She could never be friends with a woman like this one, going out of her way to hurt someone so sweet like Mr. Dimply waiting just outside the door. Unfortunately it was her duty to make this woman feel better, whether she wanted to or not. "Can you tell me where to find him? Harold, I mean.

Elaine shook her head. "I don't know where he is. I went by his place later, after our fight to apologize but he wasn't there. I have a key to it so I went inside but it was deserted by that point. All of Harold's things were gone. I figured he skipped town or something.

This complicated things. Hermione had to know where that ring came from. Suddenly she got an idea and told Elaine not to get out of bed. She stepped out of the room and found Greg Dimply in the hallway pacing.

He ran right up to Hermione after noticing she was there. "Is she okay? There are no lasting effects, are there? Can I take her home?" He wasted no time asking the serious questions.

Hermione was conflicted. She had no business telling this man what was going on behind his back and she'd sworn an oath just this morning that she would divulge this kind of information since he wasn't admitted to the hospital. The ring had not affected him so she had no reason to tell him that his girlfriend was screwing around behind his back anyway. She wanted to, but she simply couldn't. "She's going to be okay for now, but can you call your friend Harold down here now? There are a few things I need to ask him as well. We need to know where the ring came from so we can make sure he didn't affect her internally."

"Oh," he sniffled. "I would try and contact him but he's headed this way now. See, just over there."

Hermione turned around to see a thin, tall man, strutting down the corridor looking at each room number and becoming increasingly impatient. "So that's Harold? Mr. Dimply, why don't you go in the room and stay by her side?" He gladly obliged and thanked Hermione for saving her life.

Hermione planned on getting the Welcome Witch to call a few Aurors but a familiar face tapped her on the shoulder. It was Luanne, that mini-Hermione she met on the day of their entrance exam.

"Hi there, Hermione!" Luanne said enthusiastically. "What are you up to? I've just been wrapping bandages on cuts for the last hour! Isn't this exhilarating, helping sick and injured people?"

"Lulu, um yes it's quite stimulating." The man she wanted to question was getting closer and closer to them and she had no time to go up and back down the hallway. "Lulu, I need you ask you to do me a huge favor."

"Sure, Hermione. Anything! What is it?"

"I need you to back me up on this. I'm pretty sure there has been criminal behavior with this patient and I think that man down there is the one responsible. If I'm right then I need you to take him to the Ministry. Go to the Auror's office and tell them what he's done."

Luanne nodded reassuringly and stood behind her idol.

Harold came up to them and turned to Hermione. "Are you the Healer here? I need to see a patient. Her name is Elaine Thomas and she's in room one forty. Can you show me where that is?"

"I can help you sir, but I need to ask you a few things first. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Harold Patterson. It's okay; I've known Elaine for years. She'll want me here." He spoke quickly, almost like he had something to hide.

"The ring you gave to Greg Dimply, where did it come from?" Hermione was direct and very cross.

"I – I got it at Diagon Alley, I thought it would be a nice engagement present for my friends. Why? What has that have to do with what's happened to Elaine?"

He was obviously playing dumb. Hermione took her wand out and pointed it to his throat. "You cursed that ring, didn't you? Or did you buy it cursed at a shop in Knockturn Alley? Go on, tell me the truth!" This wasn't really Hermione's job, threatening him. But what he did was unforgiveable, even if the girl did ask for it by playing two men at once.

"All right, all right! I did buy the ring in Knockturn Alley but what difference does it make? I didn't mean for it to cause much trouble! The man in the store said it had been dipped in some potion! He said she would fall in love with me over Greg and all I had to do was get it to her, but I couldn't give it to her directly or it wouldn't work!"

She squinted her eyes in thought. Was he being serious? Did he really mean not to hurt her? "Are you telling me the truth?"

"I swear it! I do!"

"He's lying, Hermione! I can see it in his eyes," Luanne chirped.

"I don't believe you, Harold. I think you meant to hurt her because she didn't want you anymore. Luanne, take him away. And be sure to tell the Head Auror what you've heard here."

She nodded and took him into custody before disapparating.

Hermione could not believe the lengths some people would go to in order to get what they thought were theirs. She turned and went to the other side of the corridor so she could find Richard but she ran into a fast walking woman. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to – Pansy Parkinson? What are you doing here?"

Pansy chuckled at her question. "I keep hearing that today. I've been looking for you, Granger. Why else would I be here?"

Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms at the woman. "I'm a little busy as you can see. I can't exactly chat with you now."

"Yeah well this is important, see? Are you in love Draco?"

The question had caught her completely off guard. "What? What business of that is yours?"

"Just answer the question Granger! You asked me a personal thing and now it's my turn to ask you something personal."

Love? Did she love Draco Malfoy? She certainly had a soft spot for him. He was likeable most of the time and his kisses made her melt into his lovely, muscular arms but that hardly constituted as love last time she checked. "I... It's too soon to say. I can't just answer something like that. He and I are close but we aren't exactly a confirmed relationship." _Right, we're just roommates who kiss and tease each other occasionally._ "What's it to you how I feel about him? I thought you gave up on him?"

"Hm, well you're lucky that I did give up," she scoffed as she shoved her letter from Narcissa into Hermione's hands. "You'd better read this and consider whether or not you'd like to see him with someone else. You may not love him, but you want him enough that you want him to yourself. Or is that not right?" She stormed off and left Hermione to quickly scan the letter, gasping at the word "marriage."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-one

_**Day Fourteen**_

Hermione got home from work the night before and said absolutely nothing to Draco. She went into the room and fretted herself into a not so dreamless sleep. Draco didn't say anything to her either. He was already in bed, as it was well past ten by the time Hermione got off work, but he was sitting up and staring at the door. It was almost like he was waiting for her to say something to him. Or perhaps he wanted to say something to her? Either way, the night had not been pleasant or comforting.

In her dreams, she was watching Draco and some faceless woman exchange marital rings on the Hogwarts grounds, while she wept for him from the sidelines. She had been crying senselessly in the Forbidden Forrest when a centaur came and kicked her into a coma. She woke up sweating and sticky and angry. Why had that stupid letter affected her so much? She had no idea that it was a requirement for the Malfoy heir to get married so young. Hermione had always been under the impression that their money had no rules and they could just lord it over everyone else and do whatever they wanted. Now she fully understood why he didn't want to return home to his mother's constant nagging. But still, he was only eighteen years old. He had three years to find someone. Three years was plenty of time to get to know someone and get married to them. What she didn't understand was why he gave his mother the impression that he was dating her. Did that mean that Draco wanted Hermione to save him from this predicament he was in to find a wife? Did he want to marry her?

She thought back to yesterday in the hospital when Pansy Parkinson was shrieking at her. The girl had asked her if she was in love with him. Rationally speaking, she wasn't. She had a strong liking for him and she certainly didn't want to share with someone else, if she was interpreting her dream correctly. But to become his wife, now? Or to even think of marrying him now was just out of the question. _But what if he asks you later? Like what if he asks you a few weeks or months from now? What if he falls in love with me?_ Now she was being ridiculous. Draco was not going to fall in love with her.

He had agreed to take things slow with her, and it wasn't like she was saving herself for marriage, but she did want her first time to be with someone special. He told her he was willing to wait. Hermione never knew that he was capable of being so kind, or so pleasant. His reputation preceded him, even back at Hogwarts. All the girls thought he was such a ladies man with the way he flirted around for a date to the Yule Ball. Half the girls in Ravenclaw, and of course all the girls in Slytherin, were clinging all over him, begging him to take them as a date. In the end he had gone with Pansy but Hermione assumed that they were dating and told herself not to worry about it. Now that she thought about it, he probably only took her because it was less messy and it wouldn't be complicated to bring someone he knew so well.

So if he was willing to waste time waiting for Hermione to be ready to sleep with him, what was he going to do about finding a wife to keep his fortune and his house? Did he not care about things like that anymore? His mother didn't seem to think he cared about love or else she wouldn't have tried to set him up with Pansy, who as usual had fallen as a last resort. Draco was nice to her, he treated her right, he didn't pressure her in any way and she really liked him. He liked her too, or he wouldn't bother with her. If he didn't like her then he wouldn't have let her stay there, he wouldn't have given her his bedroom and he wouldn't kiss her so much. _All right so we like each other, but that isn't enough to get married over. I want to be in love with my husband and I'm sure he wants to be in love with his wife or he wouldn't care about having an arranged marriage. He wouldn't have left home._

And then it dawned on her. He might not love her now and she might not love him, but could they learn to love each other? And did he want to?

* * *

Pansy Parkinson was a lot of things. She was snobby and rude, she was impatient and she didn't like suck-ups. She didn't care what people thought about her. However, one thing she wouldn't settle for was being someone's last resort. Narcissa Malfoy's letter had upset her more than she let on. Draco was never going to go for an arranged marriage with her and there was nothing she could do to convince him to settle for her. He'd made that perfectly clear a while back when he said he wasn't going to sleep with her for no reason. Draco didn't settle for anything.

Two years ago, she might have been thrilled at the prospect of becoming his wife but when he'd told her off, when he told her to give up and move on she found herself doing just that: giving up. It was the only thing that could distract her from her troubles, a little alcohol. But this wasn't about her and her troubles. It was about her friend and his inability to tell that he was actually smitten with Granger.

Pansy knew that much. She'd seen it in his eyes when they first made the front page of the Profit. On the photo spread she saw a photo of him and Granger dining at Assagio's, and the look on his face just said it all. He was in love with her. He might not know it yet but Pansy knew it to be true. There was a shine in his eyes that the photo just did not do justice. The only person he was going to settle for was her. If he was made to marry anyone then he would only cooperate if it was Granger. Why couldn't the stupid bloke just see it and propose to her already? He claimed he didn't want to scare her away, but she was just as much in love with him as he was with her. They were two of the smartest people in all of Hogwarts and they were both too stupid to realize their feelings for each other.

What Pansy had done yesterday was a onetime thing only. Playing matchmaker was not on her list of interests. Why couldn't they just see it for themselves? _Because they are imbeciles! Why they had to subject me into forcing them to see what everyone else does is beyond me!_ And now she was severely paying for it. Narcissa herself had dropped by her home and was telling her off for not doing a good enough job in changing Draco's mind.

"Honestly, Pansy. If he's going to listen to anyone it would be you." She had said that at least three times already. "Why couldn't you just tell him how much he needs to marry, and that he'd do great marrying you? You are an attractive girl; surely you could have used your feminine wiles to get him to agree?"

The question was ludicrous. "Draco has never wanted me that way. He never has and never will. So my feminine wiles won't work." Talking about this with his mother was so beyond awkward. "Why are you even here? Don't you have faith that he can find a good girl to marry him on his own? There is plenty of time. He only turned eighteen last month. His life has only just started."

"Oh, I course I don't trust him to do it. You've seen the papers; I know you know he's dating the Granger girl. I have a hard time believing that they'll last. And if they do last, they might make it to probably a month and he'll be too heartbroken to find someone else! He should settle now and get it over with." Narcissa was in a constant state of worry these days. She never had to worry about this when she was a girl because she and Lucius had married right out of Hogwarts. They didn't have a child until much later but they only needed to have one, and they had their one.

"These are different times, Narcissa." Pansy sighed in deep regret. "He has his own way of thinking. I say you should give him a chance. I know what you have to lose but you'll never get him to participate if he doesn't want to. Are you scared of having a half-blood grandchild and a muggle-born daughter-in-law?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of those things, but honestly we're cutting it very close to incest with pureblood marriages these days. It was only a matter of time before a Malfoy married a muggle-born. I hardly care about that. Their relationship is hardly one to be taken seriously."

"Please just let it go." Pansy had heard enough of her squabble. "He's not going to settle for me. Nothing you say will change his mind. Trust me. He's going to do things on his own time. So sit back, relax and enjoy the newspaper clipping about Granger becoming the next Lady Malfoy."

* * *

It was four o'clock in the afternoon. She had gone the entire day without leaving the room and she was terribly hungry. Hermione knew he was out there and as much as she wanted to confront him about all this marriage nonsense, she had no idea what to say. _What could I say? 'Hey Draco, I heard about your little problem. Do you think you could marry me?' How stupid._

She thought of going out there and just ignoring him but she wasn't sure what she would do if he started talking to her. This was big news they were juggling. They whole Wizarding world thought they were this secret couple just now revealing themselves and Hermione sort of wished it had been like that. Perhaps if they'd been dating for a long time in secret, this wouldn't be such a big deal. She had just gotten used to the idea of being his roommate slash girlfriend. Becoming his fiancée was something she had never considered.

She sunk onto the bed and rubbed her temples. _I'll have no choice but to go out there eventually. Harry will be expecting me to show up for dinner at the Burrow soon and I can't just stay here sulking…_

There was a knock on the bedroom door and she immediately knew who it was.

"Can I come in?"

She used her wand to unlock the door and sat upright.

He sat down next to her and exhaled all his fears away before blurting out at her. "I want you to live here with me!"

_What?_ "What?"

"Uh… I mean to say, you're leaving today aren't you? To go stay with your parents until you can get a spare key?" He was so embarrassed. Draco had never been good at expressing his emotions.

Hermione, on the other hand was confused. "Oh." She had completely forgotten that she told him she would leave after two weeks. She was in distress about his financial situation and her getting in as a trainee Healer that she had let it slip her mind. Then she registered what he'd said to her. "You want me to stay here, eh? Like having me around?" she asked slyly.

"Yes, I do." Draco however, was being totally serious. "I like having you here and you leaving would just make it feel so… empty and wrong. I don't like thinking about it being that way."

She could tell that it was hard for him to talk about something like this and gushed. "Draco…"

"I can understand if you want to leave but I want you to know just how lonely I'd be if you did."

"So you would miss me if I left?"

"I would. Very much so."

Hermione's stomach flipped. He really did like her and it was worth giving him a shot if he could keep making her feel so happy. It didn't matter that they came to live together in such a strange way. She liked being here with him. The last two weeks had passed by so quickly and Hermione wanted more. "There's just one thing I have to ask you before I decide if I should stay."

"What is it?" he asked with a worried expression.

"It's something I really need to know about you before I stay here. I know this is going to sound absurd but I don't think I can go on not knowing. I heard from Pansy yesterday about what you have to do. I know your mother wants you to get married and I know the reason why."

Draco blanched. He wasn't expecting this at all. He knew when Pansy left yesterday that she was hinting at doing something drastic but she didn't know that telling Hermione his problem was the "something drastic."

"I like you, Draco. I don't know you very well and you don't know much about me either, but I've liked getting to know the little bit about you that I do know. I like being around you. It makes me nervous but in a good way, and I know you like me too, even if it's just a little. What we have is confusing at times but it feels really good being around you. I'm not saying we should get engaged right now just for the sake of solving your problem because it's just too soon and I don't think I'm ready to marry anyone, but what I have to know, what I have to ask you is… Do you think you could fall in love with me, even just a little bit?"

"Yes," he shot out. He knew without a doubt that he was falling for her. He knew she was different that first day when she was checking her pockets and the floor around her for her key. He didn't know what it was about her, but he was drawn to her.

"Do you really mean that? You aren't just saying it to – I mean you really –"

He cut her off by taking her face gently in his hands pressing her lips onto his. He kissed her with all the passion he felt for her and pulled away to explain himself. "I really do think I could, and I really do think that I already am falling for you, even just a little bit."

She smiled as a small tear leaked from one of her eyes. "So you think you could see yourself with me? I mean for a long time?"

"I do think that. I don't want to rush you into something like marriage with me just because I have a deadline, but let's say when the time is right, and I really feel like spending the rest of my life with you is what I want and I feel like you'll want the same, I'll propose to you. Do you think you'll say yes? Theoretically?"

She nodded her head fervently. "I think, theoretically, hypothetically, that if you asked me to marry you, when I really feel like spending the rest of my life with you is what I want and you'll want the same, that I would definitely say yes to you."

He kissed her again and wiped the tear steam off her face with his thumb. "Don't break my heart, Granger. I'm very fragile you see."

She laugh quietly as he took her into his arms. "I hadn't planned on it, Draco."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Once again she was experiencing déjà vu. She had mixed feeling about being at the Burrow but she didn't feel so small. Instead she was concerned because in the back of her mind, something was telling her that she had to be there today. It wasn't the smell of Mrs. Weasley's delightful spinach puffs but that was what forced her to knock on the door. A few moments of swirling regret later, the door burst open and a smiling Ginny greeted and welcomed her inside.

Ginny's smile was what really made her so very beautiful and Hermione hadn't seen the girl cheerful enough to do it in quite some time. The happy face of her best friend made her confidence built up immensely and she wasn't so tense about being there anymore. _If Ginny can smile now, knowing what she has to do and after everything she's been through then I should be able to smile to. _They hugged and Ginny brought her inside.

"I have to tell you something," she beamed with a chipper tone.

"Well color me curious. What is it?" The last time Ginny had told her something it was about her expecting a child. If she could top that then Hermione would be astounded.

Neville walked in and went by Ginny's side. He looked rather pale but sill like the same old Neville. Hermione couldn't believe he was going to be a father. "Hi there, Hermione," he said sheepishly. "It's a big day today."

"Why's that?" _What are these two hiding?_

Ginny kissed his cheek and clasped hands with him. "We're going to tell everyone _the news_ at dinner, once everyone has gotten here," she whispered. "Neville, Ron and Harry are leaving for Auror training next Monday and we won't have a chance to say anything after that. And the week after that are my N.E.W.T.s on the Monday after the new term starts _and_ I have an interview to work at _Witch Weekly_! If all goes well then I'll be a paid intern there until I take time off for maternity leave. Isn't that great?"

"Oh my goodness, that's fantastic." Hermione couldn't believe her friend's luck. It seemed like things were finally looking up for her. It was a nice change from all of the disappointment and sorrow she'd been experiencing lately and Hermione was relieved. The reactions of the Weasleys and Harry, however, were another story entirely. She gave Ginny another hug and congratulated her. "I'm so happy for you."

Mrs. Weasley walked into the room and kindly greeted Hermione before escorting all three of them in the foyer into the new dining room addition just installed in the burrow. It was a very nice and well decorated room, as was the rest of the Burrow now that they had fixed it up. After the war was good and settled and everyone made it back home, the Ministry saw fit to give Molly a bounty for killing Voldemort's right hand gal, Bellatrix Lestrange, and gave other Weasleys bounties for the good they did to the Wizarding world. It was a gracious amount for each member and it was all enough for Molly and Arthur to have their home refurbished inside and out. It looked just as new as it was when they'd first bought it nearly twenty-five years ago and Molly was very proud of her home, now more than ever.

In the dining room, Hermione found that Harry, Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Ron, the twins, Percy and a girl she didn't recognize were already seated. She took a seat next to Harry and Neville sat next to her, which placed Ginny on the end next to Neville. Hermione could feel the mild discomfort radiating off of Harry and the concern for his welfare coming off of Neville. Ron and the new girl were blissfully ignorant of the situation before them: a girl bringing her new beau to dine with her family and her ex, either that or they chose to stay out of it. She noticed that they were giving each other googly eyes and figured that the fair skinned beauty was Ron's new girlfriend that Harry had told her about. All in all, Hermione was desperately uncomfortable. The only thing that would have made the evening more awkward was her bringing Draco and introducing them as a promised-to-be-engaged-but-still-only-dating couple. The Weasleys, except Ron and Percy, had forgiven the poor boy for his crimes during the war and blamed it on the brainwashing he'd received instead of proper parentage. But that didn't mean they were ready to sit down and have a meal with him, at least not yet anyway.

Arthur cleared his throat and made a toast to the new room and the safety for each person in the room. He then shared a kiss with Molly who was seated adjacent from him and invited everyone to dig into their plates.

Molly had prepared an exotic fruit salad with a lasagna casserole as the main dish and the large carrot cake for dessert. Apparently the matriarch was in a mood for celebration when she planned the meal since it would be the last that Harry and Ron would be attending for four months. A tear escaped her eye at the thought but she quickly wiped it away hoping no one saw.

* * *

Halfway through the meal, Hermione was practically stuffed and regretted putting so much fruit on her plate. Papayas were her weakness after all since she rarely got the chance to eat them. Those and the strawberries had her defeated before she could get a good chunk of carrot cake in her system, which happened to be another weakness of hers, especially when Molly Weasley made it. She nudged Neville and motioned for him to get Ginny's attention for her. Ginny looked over at her and shrugged her shoulders as if to say "What's up?"

"Isn't it about time you said something about the whole you-know-what?" she said in a low whisper.

Ginny shook her head. "In a minute, yeah but not before we all had something in our stomachs. I wanted everyone to be happy and full from mum's cooking before I brought it up, in case someone storms out or something."

Hermione bobbed her head in confirmation. It was nice to know that the younger witch had planned this all out. It was one less thing Hermione had to worry about. This and her new job and her relationship with Draco were all things that had been killing off her spirit in recent weeks. Now that it was all almost cleared up she felt she just might sleep easy tonight. She popped another forkful of carrot cake in her mouth and smiled at the deliciousness that greeted her tongue. Mrs. Weasley sure knew how to fatten up her children. Harry tapped on her shoulder just after she swallowed.

"What's going on with those two? _He's_ been acting rather strange all night." Harry was jealous and miffed. Ginny hadn't sat next to him at dinner in a very long time. He missed the way her hair would fall onto his shoulder when she flipped it to her back, and the light smell of lilacs that carried to his nose as she did it. He missed everything about her. But as he had told Hermione weeks before, he was going to have to learn to get over her.

Hermione simply shrugged and took another bite of cake, using the food's purely immoral conquest of her mouth as an excuse for her shy smile. It hid the facial expression she'd be having if her mouth were empty. She was a terrible liar and Harry could always, always see right through her.

Fortunately this time, he didn't and went back to scooting the food along on his plate. Heartbreak had a tendency to kill his appetite and he still couldn't shake the fact that Hermione was dating someone that they used to call an enemy. They weren't feudal anymore but it put Harry in a bad place regardless. He wondered to himself how far along they had gotten in their relationship and felt a mix between embarrassment and fury. The thought of anyone touching Hermione like that made him want to choke a goat. She was like a sister to him and slight feelings of romance aside, he didn't like the idea of a man getting intimate with her. He recalled the day when he'd seen her clad in only a towel and scolded his mind to stop the blushing. Sister-like or not, broken hearted or not, the girl looked good. It was then that he decided: if she ever asked him to deflower her, he'd do it completely and without hesitation faster than she could say "lemon drops." Harry looked down and tried to avoid her gaze when Percy spoke up.

"Hermione," he started, sounding rather pompous. "Have you met Bay O'Connell? She is Ronald's guest for the evening. Ronald, why don't you introduce her?"

"Um, it's O'Conner, and please I'm not nearly important enough for an introduction," she said modestly. Bay threw a kind smile Hermione's way and a sheepish smile to Ron.

_What a cute girl._ _I mean I've heard of girls that looked like dolls but this one looks like a pristine figure. How on Earth and in the name of Merlin did Ronald ever manage to find someone like her? And was that an American accent I heard? Bloody hell,_ Hermione didn't swear much but when she did, she meant it. She looked like she'd come right out of a catalogue that Hermione's parents would keep in the lobby of their dental practice. Hermione smiled back and took a look at her plate. _I wonder if Draco thinks of me that way. No, don't be ridiculous. I look good. And good is good enough. I know it. He knows it. No one else matters._ The self-pep talk had cheered her up a tad but she was still envious of the girl's charming demeanor and stunning good looks.

"So Bay, do tell everyone what part of America you hail from? Are there many wizard schools there? And what would you say is the muggle-magic person ratio?"

Naturally the question came from Mr. Weasley, but Hermione was just as curious to know.

"Oh, I'm from California, a state on the west coast. There are a few wizard schools in America and they vary by region since America's so big and populous. But I'd have to say that the wizard and witch population is very small compared to all the muggles. I think maybe one in every ten persons might be of magic. Of course it's enough to fill a few schools throughout the country."

Arthur seemed fascinated. Hermione seemed annoyed.

"And the school you went to?"

"Saint Augustine's Academy for Magic; it's a small school in Vermont which is in New England. It's girls only, but we have a brother school called Saint Adelaide's School of Wizardry. That's in New Hampshire which is right next to Vermont. A lot of friendly competitions and functions are held between the two." Bay spoke a little nervously because all the eyes at the table were set on her and she was getting a weird vibe from Hermione. She shook it off mentally and took a casual bite of lasagna.

"How very interesting that is," Percy muttered. "Is there some sort of ministry for magic folk?"

"Yes, there is. It's very strict about muggles finding out and it would be so easy for them to. There are more half-bloods and muggle-born people than anything else and we intertwine with the muggle community so much that the ministry is very afraid that too many muggles are being informed of our existence. No one wants a repeat of the Salem Witch Trials. But the only people being told are inclusive family members of those involved with magic. Anyone else is in ignorance but the threat is large."

Percy nodded in a fascinated manner and scratched his chin, a habit he had taken to after seeing his new boss do it.

"Ahem," Ginny cleared her throat and stood. Neville followed suit and immediately took her hand.

"Ginny, Neville, is something wrong?"

Neville braced himself for what was to come. This wasn't going to be easy and he was sure he would never really be ready to tell the parents of the girl he'd knocked up that he was the one responsible. After all they were both still so young. When they had told his grandmother earlier she was less than pleased, but calmed down after hearing what they planned to do about it. "Er, well, that is…"

"I'm pregnant," she said simply, like stating she was going to the loo.

Ron's jaw dropped. Bill shifted in his seat uncomfortably and then excused himself while Fleur did the same. Harry shot out of his seat and Hermione stayed perfectly still in hers. Fred and George were dead still, knowing full well after a lifetime of being yelled at what was to come for the unlikely pair. Bay looked around in total confusion. This was not good.

"Are you serious?" said Arthur.

"Are you mental?" said Harry.

"How could you be so careless?!" said an already hysterical Molly while clutching her chest.

Ron led Bay up into his room where they retreated with the other curious family members. Hermione took Harry out of the room against his will and took him into the backyard garden shed. Right now, the only people that needed to be in that dining room were the pregnant pair and her parents.

Harry was pacing angrily back and forth through the shed. It was unbelievable. He was barely over her and she had to go and get pregnant? And with Neville of all people…

"Harry, please just calm down," she tried. Hermione knew it wasn't going to be that simple but she had to try.

"This cannot be happening. I mean are they for real about this? She's… She's really? She really is something. I can't believe this! Why not trample all over my heart while you're at it?" he paused. Hermione didn't seem shocked about this at all; not as much as she should be at least. "Did… did you know about this?"

Hermione scoffed. "Of course I knew about it. I was the first person she told." She took him by his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Listen to me. What about this upsets you the most? And I don't want to hear that she is too young or that she isn't ready because that is her and Neville's business. You aren't her parent. You are the former boyfriend with residual feelings for the girl you just found out is having another man's baby. Tell me how you feel."

"Merlin, Hermione," he moaned. Harry would complain all he liked but he secretly loved it when she took charge of him like this. It was almost enough to make him forget why he was so fuming in the first place. He thought long about his response before muttering, "What hurts me the most? It's the fact that it isn't with me. I feel betrayed, like she did it in spite of my feelings for her, like she did it just so I would back off."

"And are you going to back off?" she asked while letting him go.

"I told you already that I was going to try. I – I've got no choice but to now, right? There's zero chance of what I want happening."

"Harry…"

"No, I mean, I'll get over it. Eventually."

"If it makes you feel better," she said with a grin. "There was an even less chance of me marrying Ron and he seemed to bounce back just fine. Where did he find that girl?" _Change of topic, excellent._

"Uh, at Fred and George's shop I think. She was shopping." Harry slouched on the wall and sighed deeply. "She's keeping it?"

"She's keeping it."

"So I should drop it?"

"You should."

He sighed again. "I guess I should. We're all being shipped out for training on the Monday after tomorrow so it's not like I have to deal with it living here."

"I thought I told you to find a new place to stay," she mocked scolded him. Hermione took him into a tight hug and laid her head on his chest.

"I am… I am. Ron and I, and possibly Bay now, are going to fix up Grimmauld Place when we get back in four months." It felt too good to hold her like this. He'd had the hardest time squashing his feelings for her on his own as it was. But with them as they were now there was a strong possibility that he would lose his cool and ruin his friendship with her right there in the shed. They were alone. And it was quiet. She had initiated contact and he was incredibly frustrated with Ginny. He guessed that anymore more intimacy involved and he wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

"Urgh… Bay. I just find it hard to believe she's a real person with all that perfection oozing off her skin."

He chuckled at her envy. "Does someone have a little green monster on their back?" Harry put his hand on the top of her head and ran it down her back. Why did she have to fit so snug into his arms?

"Who me? God, no. I am above such silliness. I am just seriously concerned that she's a figment of imagination and she'll one day just disappear and leave him very lonely." She hugged him a little tighter and then stepped back, looking up at his face. "You're going to be just fine, you know."

Her smile was so warm and inviting. "I know." He smiled back and let her lead him out of the shed. They trekked up to Ron's room quietly as to not disturb the argument only a room away from them once they reentered the house.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

The fight between Ginny and her parents could be heard all the way from Ron's room. Harry and Hermione reached the top of the stairs and stepped inside where they found Percy, Bill and Fleur, Ron and Bay. Their conversation paused once they heard the door open but they resumed it upon finding out that it wasn't Ginny or their parents.

Hermione scanned the room and saw a couple missing from their group. "Where are Fred and George?"

"They went back to their flat above the shop. They didn't see the yelling calming down anytime soon and there were a few things they still had to do," said Bill. He and Fleur were sitting on Ron's bed. Ron was on the floor leaned against the wall and Bay was right next to them. "How much longer do you think this is going to go on?"

It was Percy who answered him. "Who knows? It's not like she's decided to get a tattoo or something juvenile; she's… pregnant. Their probably furious and –"

"Disappointed," finished Bill. It seemed everyone was in agreement with that.

Everyone was silent for a while until Fleur asked what her sister-in-law was going to do about school and work. "She is just so young to be having a baby. Bill and I were not even thinking of having one for another year or two."

"Ginny's got a job interview at _Witch Weekly_ in a few days and they pay her through maternity leave and everything. Plus Neville is going to become an Auror. He already has a place and I'm not sure but I think it has two bedrooms. And anyway she'll be taking her school exams to skip out on the year. That way she still passes but she will miss out on a few things. They anticipated all this before they told you all."

"Oh, so they told you?" asked Ron. In the chaos happening downstairs he had forgotten that he was upset with her. They hadn't spoken in half a month but he had seen her in the papers, holding hands with Malfoy. It made him angry but Bay always managed to take his mind off of the discomfort.

"I'd be surprised if Ginny didn't tell Hermione," said Bill. "She's closer to Ginny than we are most of the time. They are best friends."

"She told me a couple of weeks ago. She said today would be the perfect time to let everyone else know since we'd all be here save for Charlie."

"Are they going to get married?" Everyone was curious to know the answer to Fleur's question.

"When the time is right they will. They aren't going to do just because she's pregnant. That's how relationships fall apart." Hermione felt very weird explaining Ginny's situation for her.

"Yeah, well that's probably what they're arguing about down there right now since they have a game plan. Molly and Arthur can't be upset with her because she's getting a paying job and she has a place to stay. They don't want her to have a baby out of wedlock." Those were the first words Harry had spoken since they came in. Listening to everyone talk now just made the whole thing that much more real. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare he was having.

Hermione sensed his uneasiness and sighed. "Talking about her now does not change the fact that she _is_ pregnant. Ginny's really happy now and she's come to terms with her situation. She knows what she has to do now and all she really needs is the support from her family and friends. This is going to be hard on her. We have to be there."

"Hermione's right. Ginny is still our sister and we should be there to support her even if we don't agree with what she's doing."

Hermione and Bill's words rang inside everyone in the room. And while they all felt the same way, it was still very hard to admit that any of this was happening.

Fleur stood up and went back to Bill's side. "We should go. There are things that I need to do before work tomorrow and it will take quite a while."

He nodded to his wife and took her hand. "Yeah, she's right. I have some things to do too. We'll see you lot next Sunday though."

They walked out and could be heard going down the stairs. Once Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saw them the arguing stopped for about twenty seconds while they were seen out the door. The front door shut but the shouting did not continue. It was a crescendo of frustrated whispers that led to an occasional raised tone which would make a loud point and go back to an angry whisper.

Harry couldn't take being in the house any longer. He was regretting ever coming to dinner tonight but he hadn't missed one in months and the food had been very good. He decided he would need some air if he was going to stay here but saw the perfect opportunity to get Hermione and Ron to make up. "Bay, have you seen the quidditch pitch in the field yet?"

"Um, Ron showed me yesterday. We took a ride on his broom and we flew around the house a couple time. It was fun." _Why did he just ask me that? He was here yesterday and he saw us go up…_

"Right, well I bet you've never been on a Firebolt before. Come with me I'll show you how fast it can really go," he said as he pushed her out of the room. "Percy I think you should come too and make sure we don't fall. Why don't you two stay here and talk?"

Bay was confused but Percy caught on and shut the door as he left. "An excellent idea, Harry. I was just thinking that I'd never seen you on your broom before."

Now it was just Ron and Hermione. The last time they were left alone things hadn't turned out well. Hermione was sacred to say anything. She didn't want to fight with him anymore but he did a great job of turning whatever she said into something threatening.

Ron wanted to leave. He wasn't good at talking to her and he was sure that he would never learn how. He was tired of arguing but he wasn't sure if she was. "So…"

"Right."

"Er, are you and he…?

"Yes. If by he you mean Draco then yes." _Is that it? That's the most you can come up with? I have to be the one who takes the first step again?_ "Look Ron, this is getting old. We can be friends again if we really try to make it work. No insults, no sarcasm, just talking out our problems." _There, I took the first step. And it was damn powerful too._

He was nodding which was good but it didn't seem like he fully understood her. "What exactly is our problem?"

Hermione shrugged and said "miscommunication? We shouldn't get in an argument just because we can't agree on something. There are things about Harry that I don't agree with and our relationship never goes to the same extremes as it does with you and me."

"What do you mean? What things about Harry don't you agree with?" he challenged. Ron wanted to fix their friendship too but there were things about her and Harry that didn't add up. They got on too well sometimes. He found himself wondering why they didn't ever argue. "What's the difference between me and Harry?"

She bit her lip and scratched her ear. "What kind of question is that? You are two completely different people. Harry and I are just more compatible than you and I are."

"So you prefer him?"

And say hello to the accusations. She took a deep breath and exhaled the irritation away. "I didn't say that Ron. I prefer the way we don't argue though, yes. It's easier to talk to him."

"Why's that?"

"Because he isn't as hotheaded as you are! Can you please just stop with this insecurity you have over him? It is so old. You are an adult now. You feeling envious of what your best friend has needs to stop and you've got to stop jumping down my throat!" What the problem was with them Hermione didn't know. She did know that she was sick of him feeling like he wasn't enough. "Stop comparing yourself to Harry. You're a good enough guy on your own and you shouldn't need my opinion to validate what you already know on the inside."

It happened all at once. Ron got up from his spot and pulled Hermione into a tight but friendly hug. "I'm sorry. Thank you, Hermione."

Shock. She was genuinely shocked. More set off than the time that he proposed and that was less than a month ago. Every time she turned around he was doing something else to surprise her. Ron Weasley was giving her a hug. He never hugged. When he came over so suddenly she assumed that he was going to scream in her face. Her arms lifted to hug him back so he wouldn't think she thought he was repulsive. "You're welcome?" What was he thanking her for?

"I really needed to hear those words from you." He let her go and stepped back. "I always thought you liked him better and it drove me mad because you two shared something that I couldn't have with you."

"So does that mean you'll stop being such an arse all the time?" She hadn't come to the burrow expecting a full confession from him. It was her plan to just ignore him and pretend they weren't on bad or good terms.

He chuckled at her. "Yeah I can try. You have to stop shrieking at me when you're angry though."

"I can do that," she smiled. "I promise it won't happen again. I've given up shrieking for good; it's not good for my voice. I have to be able to talk to my patients or they'll kick me out of the trainee Healer program."

His eyebrows rose. "You, you're a trainee Healer?"

Hermione smiled guiltily for not saying anything and nodded. "As of last Friday. My first day was yesterday though. It's promising and I like it there. I even sent a man to jail."

"All these years I've known you and you're still full of surprises."

* * *

By the time Hermione had decided to leave the Weasley's the arguing had stopped. There were still a few tears falling out of Molly's eyes but she always had been very emotional. It was just past eight o'clock in the evening and she had enjoyed her time there. She made up with a friend and got to know his new belle a little better and then watched a face off between Harry and Ron on their home quidditch pitch. Things in Hermione's life were finally looking up and she was incredibly grateful. Dealing with drama and anything related to it was not her strong suit.

When she got home there were several things wrong with what she saw. Well, things weren't exactly wrong but they certainly weren't right in her mind. All the living room furniture was gone and the kitchen was bare. There was nothing in the apartment. It was like they were robbed or he moved without telling her. She stepped in the bathroom and found the same scenario; the walls were bare and all the decoration that had been there before was gone now. Her stroll into the bedroom was just as unpleasant. Everything was gone. The only thing that was still there was Draco.

He was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed and he appeared to be in deep thought. Finally Hermione found her voice after a few moments of thinking "what the hell is going on?" but she wasn't quite ready to speak. She tapped him on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi there, beautiful. What do you think?"

Her eyes moved about the room and saw the same emptiness. Now she was really confused. "What do I think? What is there to think about? This place looks like no one lives here. Two people live here, Draco. What is going on?" Hermione didn't want to do this now. She just wasn't in the mood for it. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and get lost in a nice juicy book she picked up from the library on her way home.

Draco took both of her hands in his and spun her around a little. "I thought about it and it doesn't really feel like two people live here because your taste wasn't really here. So I had everything taken out and put into storage."

"The muggle way?" she asked incredulously. "Why in the world would you do that?"

Draco shrugged and kissed her lips. "I thought you would appreciate the gesture of not using magic to do everything. I want us to redecorate so that it says more than just 'two people live here.' I want it to say two people love here."

_Two people love here? Is he saying what I think he's saying? _She heard his last few words but they didn't register. She actually chose not to register them. As sweet as his intentions were, Hermione was in no mood to redecorate anything. It was late and a ritual of hers on Sunday nights was to read herself to sleep with an ice cold glass of water on the bedside table and a few apple slices. Her brain had already set her up for it and now she was too lazy to do anything else. But the look in his eyes was making her feel bad for even thinking of turning him down. He seemed excited to be doing this with her and it wasn't like him to take initiative for things like this. She was scared that if she turned him down now then he would never bother again. "That's very thoughtful of you to consider my being here… But what if I wanted us to live at my place?"

"Do you want to live at your place?"

_Damn._ "No, not particularly, no."

"Then what's the matter?"

What could she say? "Do we have to do this tonight? I'm kind of tired and I like to wind down on Sunday nights.

"Oh." Draco looked taken aback. "I thought if we started tonight and did everything without magic we could finish by your birthday. We don't have to start now. I was thinking this would make a nice present is all."

"You – you know by birthday?" Now she felt bad. He was willing to do things "the muggle way" and all for her birthday. How heartless was she to complain? "How did you know? Have you been talking to my parents?"

He shook his head no. "I saw you in the Great Hall getting something from them every year though."

"And you took notice of me then?"

He shrugged again. "It was hard not to notice you, Granger. Your smile kind of lit up the hall when you started opening the gifts at the table. At least it did to me. I mean I don't know the exact day but I know it's in the middle of September and this could take a while without magic."

Now she really felt terrible. Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, planting her head onto his chest. "It's on the nineteenth of September. When did you get so thoughtful and charming?"

"I'm not sure exactly. I think your goodness is starting to rub off on me," he said as he hugged her back and took a whiff of the raspberries he smelled from her hair. It was drawing him in more than he would have liked to admit. _Even her hair smells good. Everything about her smells good._

"I feel awful, Draco. I'm so sorry."

He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it. We can do this some other time. I just wanted you to feel more comfortable here."

"I'm extremely comfortable here. Can we put the rooms back the way they were now? I want to lie in bed and relax before going to sleep." She loved the way he held her just like the way they were now. He was sweet and comfortable. It did throw her off a bit that she was cuddling with Draco Malfoy but she had to keep reminding herself that she hadn't known who he was back then, not really. "When is your birthday anyway?"

"June fifth. It's fine we can put it back. It won't take long, I lied about moving things the muggle way. I just shrunk them all and put them in a case under the bathroom sink."

Hermione smacked her teeth tried pulling away from him but he was having none of it.

"Hermione," he was suddenly much more serious sounding.

The low rumble of his baritone voice and the way he'd said her Christian name had turned her on a little. "Wh-what is it?"

"Can I lie in bed with you tonight? That couch is awful lonely, you know?" He had put a tighter grip on her body and he was running his hands up and down your back. "You smell intoxicating."

He was teasing her again. The only bad thing was that Hermione was starting to like it. "Hmm, maybe some other night. I – I don't think that's such a good idea."

"So someday soon?"

"Someday special." He was making her very nervous. She was pressed so tightly against his body and it felt so good that she didn't even know what she was waiting for anymore. She wanted him more and more every day and she knew he was getting impatient too; otherwise she wouldn't be in this compromising position. They were practically dry humping while standing up. Her breathing was heavy but she was trying to hide it. Her breasts were firmly up against his chest and she wanted to take them out and let him have his way with the. There was a taste in her mouth that only his tongue could nourish. But she knew that if she let him go there now then she would be losing her virginity only a matter of moments later. She could feel his excitement and she was intimidated to say the least. It felt so big... and it was hard. A part of her really wanted to see it. But she knew it was too soon. She wanted to do it on her terms on a special night and it had to mean something. Hermione didn't want her relationship with him to just be about sex. She wanted it to be genuine and waiting was the only way to find out if it was or not.

"How about someday like someone's birthday?"

"Whose birthday? Yours or mine?"

He chuckled from his throat and pulled her face up to look into her eyes. "I guess you'll have to wait and find out won't you?"

He really was nothing but a big tease.

* * *

Harry felt rather tense. It was like someone had hastily cut out a large part of his life. He spent his sixth year of Hogwarts worrying about Voldemort, stressing about Sirius's death, and falling in love with Ginny without meaning to. She had been there for him the entire time and he had neglected her all that time chasing after a girl with far too many emotional issues. If he had seen her from the start, if he had really paid attention to her and saw that she was there then she wouldn't have fallen out of love with him. They would be together and she would be waiting for him to come after he left instead of waiting for Neville. His chances with her were completely shot.

He was sitting at Treats, the muggle café where he'd seen Dumbledore staring at the advertisement across the tracks, when the same waitress who had greeted him before set his coffee down on the table. She had a smug look on, arching her brow patiently tapping her foot like she was angry but amused by it. He cleared his throat and started to speak but she cut him off.

"Whatever excuse you have to say to me just drop it now. I haven't seen you in more than a year but I never forget a face. Especially when that face is responsible for standing me up." She walked back to the kitchen and looked back at him.

She didn't sound too upset. Harry looked down into his cup and sighed. He never actually got her name and he hoped she would come back so that he could. It wasn't exactly his fault that Dumbledore wouldn't let him come back. He had every intention of going back and taking her out. She was cute and witty. If he had been able to then maybe he wouldn't feel so messed up right now. He wouldn't be able to be honest with her about who he was unless they got really serious. Like marriage serious. He remembered Seamus Finnegan telling him that his father was a muggle and he didn't find out aabout his mother being a witch until much later. The International Statute of Secrecy was nothing to be toyed with.

When he looked back up she was giving him a look about. She was wearing street clothes without her work apron and she sat at the same table as him. "All right, I lied. I am a little curious about why you never came back that night and yet you've got enough gall to show up here now. So tell me what was _so_ important that you couldn't even bother to return the next day with some lame excuse like someone you know died."

Harry exhaled and scratched the back of his head in thought. "I guess I don't really have a good reason for not showing up. At least not a good enough one anyway."

She rested her head in her hand and pitched it on the table. "Hmm..."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to decide if you're worth a second chance for a first date. I don't fancy being stood up twice by the same person but you are pretty good looking. I'm Lennie, by the way. It's short for Lenore. No one calls me that, so don't even try it." She extended her hand out to him.

"Mind if I call you Nora?" he asked while taking her hand and shaking it politely.

"No, I don't mind. Now you have to tell me your name though."

"Well, I'm no one really. Just Harry." Nora looked just as good now as she did when he first met her. She smiled at him and he smiled back, thinking that maybe moving on would be so hard.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

_**Two Weeks Later**_

Ginny had just finished moving the last of her things from her old home to her new one and now she was going into Diagon Alley to meet Hermione for lunch. Things were going to be so different from now on but she was glad that she still had her best friend to help cheer her up. It would be just her and Neville once he came back from training, and then a few months after that they would have a baby. She wasn't showing yet but she was still very excited. The thought of her having a family with him made her blush madly. Everything was changing so quickly but she liked it this way. Her entire life she had only known a house full of people with no real moments of privacy. Having time to herself and her own space would feel relaxing, at least until the baby arrived.

Her parents were still sore with her about the whole thing. They still weren't on the best of terms when she left but a part of her knew they would come around. They couldn't stay mad at her forever. Besides she had a plan, and a damn good one. It's not like she was alone in this. Neville was there for her one hundred percent. Why couldn't they just understand that she knew what she had to do? It was going to be hard for her and she knew that but she had things to do that were more important than cry and whine about how it wasn't fair. They had every right to be upset with her but at the end of the day there was nothing she could do that she wasn't doing already. They should be proud that they had such a responsible daughter in the head of crisis. She just turned seventeen years old a few weeks ago. True that was too young to have a baby but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Her new position at _Witch Weekly_ would start tomorrow and Neville would be leaving as well. All she wanted was for them to forgive her and support her and she hoped it didn't take them nine months to do it.

She walked into Flourish and Blotts book store to find her friend and tapped her shoulder upon meeting her. Hermione jumped a little but calmed down once she realized who it was. "Did I scare you that much?" Ginny asked.

Hermione was picking out a few books for recreational reading and research when Ginny came in. Richard had told her about a few books he had written on all kinds of lasting scars from cursed and dangerous artifacts and a way to rid them from the body, and needless to say she couldn't hide her excitement. If she was that much closer to getting Draco's arm back to normal then she would read every book in the store. She had gotten so caught up in finding something that she had nearly forgotten her plans to meet anyone. "I'm sorry. I was caught up in thought when you snuck up on me. I forgot that I expecting anyone." She picked out her tome selection and went to check out. "Are you ready to get shopping?"

"Here in Diagon Alley? I didn't know there was a furniture store. I thought we were just meeting here and going somewhere else."

"Oh it's not in Diagon Alley but it isn't that far from here. We can walk through The Leaky Cauldron and it's not even a block down the road from there." They walked out of the store together, Hermione was a little upset about having to deal with the rude cashier again but she brushed it off and led her friend down the alley and into Muggle London. "I found this place a while ago. It's new and they're having a grand opening sale. Their furniture selection is great. They even have things for babies like cribs and bassinets and well you'll see when we get there."

Ginny hadn't been thinking of getting stuff for the baby yet but she was interested in getting her and Neville a new bedroom and living room set. "Aren't those things typically gifted to you at a baby shower?"

As they entered the store a gust of air that smelled like polished wood blew their way. It was a little overwhelming but the girls didn't mind. Someone greeted them and informed them of the sale. He asked if they needed help but Hermione insisted they would be fine. "Do you even want to throw a baby shower? I wasn't sure how you'd feel about having one with all your other friends still at school. We could do it during the winter holidays or maybe during Easter break but I'm not sure how everyone will feel about you being pregnant."

The comment stung a little but Ginny knew she had a point. It hadn't been well received lately and the girls her age would only judge her furthermore. "I suppose that's true. All right, I guess I don't mind. Just more things I'll have to add to my list of things to buy today."

"We don't have to buy anything today. You can just look now and buy later if you want. How much do you have on you now?"

Ginny shrugged and admired the bed and dresser set to her left. It was gorgeous but very pricy. "Neville gave me his key to his vault at Gringotts and told me to get whatever I needed. He's been neglecting getting proper furniture since he moved in and he said that anything I pick out would be perfect. He's not very good at interior design."

"Speaking of interior design, you'll never guess what Draco had for me as a surprise the other week. When I came home from dinner with you all, he had emptied the entire apartment and had it packed up so we could redecorate together. I honestly don't know what's gotten into him. All I wanted to do was go to sleep." She looked around at the crib selection and fell in love with the white wooded fairy tale styled one with pink fabrics. Hermione wasn't sure if it was appropriate because they didn't yet know the sex of the baby but she saved it in her mind as a favorite.

"Oh, it's Draco now is it?" Ginny said with an arched brow. "So I take it things are going well between you two? I have to say, after seeing that you were actually dating him in the paper I was literally speechless. You said you were living with him; I was teasing when I asked if you'd shagged yet. I didn't mean for you to fall in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him! I mean, I don't think I am. Or rather, perhaps I am? I don't know!" She buried her face into one of the decoration throw pillows to hide her blush. "Can we talk about something else now?"

"Oh, no way," she taunted after seeing the way Hermione reacted. "The show must go on. Why are you freaking out? Did he say that he loved you?"

Hermione put the pillow back where it belonged and cleared her throat. She had not been ready to have this conversation with herself yet and she certainly wasn't ready to have it with Ginny. Draco had been acting kind of distant since that night when she came home to an empty apartment and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because she hadn't said anything about his "two people love here" comment. She obviously really liked him and he made her heart beat so fast when they were close, but did that mean she was in love? "He didn't say it but he hinted that he might be saying it soon. I'm nervous, Ginny I have no idea if I'm ready to say it back yet should he try telling me again."

Ginny shook her head. "You won't ever know if you keep relying on his reaction should you don't say it back. There are three moments that lead up to that feeling of you knowing precisely how you feel about a person. There's the time when you think you know it, the time you know that you know it, and the time when you want to say it but can't because you're too afraid. If it's too soon for you to think that you love him don't stress about it. The line between like and love is kind of fuzzy but you see it when you feel it okay?"

Hermione's expression was one that Ginny had rarely ever seen on the girl. It was pure confusion. Ginny could count on one finger the amount of times she'd seen Hermione confused.

"I don't know. I've never been in love before." This definitely wasn't one of Hermione's proudest moments: admitting in a furniture store that she'd never been in love and she didn't know if she was now.

"Okay, how about this? Did you like Viktor Krum more than a friend?"

"Yes, I suppose I did but I didn't love him."

"Did you ever like Ron more than a friend at any point in time?"

"For a while but I got over it soon enough."

"And you definitely like Malf – Draco more than a friend? Urgh, that feels weird to say." Ginny shuddered slightly but awaited her friend's reply.

"Yeah, I do." Hermione was blushing again for sure even though she couldn't see her reflection; she could feel it. "It feels different than those other times though. It's something special but I can't describe it."

"Hermione… Trust me when I say this: You like him and you're falling for him now. Since you're struggling so hard to define exactly what it is you're feeling, I say you should just let go and try and stop trying to figure this all out. Does the thought of him being with someone else make you angry?"

"Of course it does! He's gone to so many extremes as to say 'let's go home,' after picking me up from work! He considers the place ours now and if he brought someone else home I would surely be upset with him."

"Are you planning on being with someone else then? Like you aren't pining after anyone with high hopes, are you?"

"No…"

"Well, then congratulations Hermione Granger. You're falling in love with Draco Malfoy."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Draco was not known to be a very patient person. He almost always got what he wanted right away when he was growing up so he never had the pleasure of learning the virtue. It was only now that he wished he had learned a bit of patience. He was waiting for her to return from work so that he could at last wow her with his plans for her birthday. It was September nineteenth and a Sunday so why she was at work was a total mystery to him. Usually she went over to the Weasley place on Sunday evenings and he would have the entire morning and afternoon alone with her. They could have celebrated and he could be with her right now if she hadn't been called in.

She told him this morning that her hours and working days would remain irregular until she became a full-fledged Healer and that it would take two years for her to complete the program and she didn't know when she would get home. It was frustrating not knowing things like that. He'd made plans for her especially and it was not in his nature to make birthday plans for anyone. _Why couldn't she decide to do something else with her time? This is totally inconvenient_.

He felt really vulnerable and not much like himself. Because she wasn't on a set schedule like he was, he had no idea when to expect her. There were days when she spent all day at the hospital and he would become jealous at the sick people being cared for at her hands. He would give anything to have her hands on him. Well not anything. He wasn't about to get himself cursed by some dangerous artifact and get admitted for Merlin knows how long. She might not even be the one to deal with him and then he would have risked his life for nothing. No, no he wasn't that stupid. He wasn't that desperate either. He would have to be patient. That's all he could do.

* * *

"Dylan, does it hurt when I move it this way?" Hermione gently turned the boy's leg over so that it his foot was horizontal with the bed.

He let out a light groan and tried not to shout too loudly, but the pain he felt was evident on his face. "It's not too bad but could you not do that again?" There was a large dark purple bruise on his lower thigh area and it was swelling very badly.

Hermione smiled sadly then put his leg back the way it was. She grabbed a pain numbing tonic off the top shelf and began to pour some into her hands. It was creamy and thick but it was what she needed to help him. "Can you tell me again what happened? How did you hurt yourself?"

"Well," Dylan started, attempting to make his voice a bit deeper. He was ten years old and just barely going through puberty, so his attempt was in vain. "I was practicing to make the Ravenclaw quidditch team. I thought if I practiced a bit on my own before I start school then I would have a better chance of making it on. I want to play Keeper just like my brother did when he was at Hogwarts. Only I crashed a few feet off the ground into the side of the house."

"That's very interesting. One of my closest friends played Keeper back when we were in school. What's your brother's name?" She lowered her hand onto his thigh with the slowest motions as to not hurt him with her touch. Her fingers traced the area around the bruise and smoothed the tonic around the center of his bruise. It went from dark purple to a light green and she saw him relax a little.

Dylan was sitting up on the bed with his legs stretched out. He sunk his head and lowered his voice. "He was killed last year by a Death Eater…"

She bit her tongue. _How embarrassing. I should know so much better by now._ "I'm very sorry to hear that, Dylan."

"Yeah…" This was the same boy that had tried to impress her earlier with his smooth skills but now he sounded like a completely different person. "It's okay though. He was protecting me. Rob told me to go hide upstairs in my secret cupboard while he dealt with the people trying to barge into our home. Rob and I don't have the same mother. My mum was a muggle and his wasn't. Rob's mum left his dad a long time ago before I was even born because she just wanted to be alone and she didn't want to take care of my brother anymore. Dad married my mum and then I was born and Rob said he swore he would be the best big brother in the entire universe. And he was the best. Since I'm half and half the Death eaters were looking for me and Rob said he wouldn't let them take me. So he picked a fight with them while I escaped with my mum to our hideout house."

"He sounds like a very good brother to me. His name was Robert?" She put a warm cloth over her his legs and charmed it to never decrease in temperature. Hermione was shocked that this boy knew so much about his family's private matters.

"Yes but you can't call him that. Only Dad and I can call him Robert. He hated other people to use his full name." Dylan poked at the cloth and looked up at Hermione. "Miss Granger?"

She was washing her hands of the rest of the cream in the sink when he called her name. "Yes, Dylan? Do you need another cloth for your head? Or maybe some ice cream from the trolley woman? I think she'll be back on the ground floor soon enough."

"No, that's okay. I don't really like ice cream and my head feels fine now. What I was going to ask was: do you have a boyfriend?"

_Oh my goodness. I should have seen this coming._ "Um," she tried her best not to snigger. "Is there a particular reason why you'd like to know?"

"No reason really, I was just wondering."

"I'm flattered that you asked but yes, I do have a very nice and handsome boyfriend." Hermione was glad for a change in topic. She felt terrible about making him relive such a terrifying memory. But when Dylan spoke of his late brother he had sounded so proud.

Dylan's mother stepped into the room and abrasively pulled her son into a hug. She was concerned than her poor baby boy would never walk again. He had been in so much pain when she brought him to the hospital; his cries were so piercing they could be heard down the hallway. Of course, they all stopped as soon as Ms. Granger stepped into the room. "Is he going to be all right? His leg isn't broken is it?"

"No you've got nothing to worry about. After a day of rest and another dose of painless tonic and he should be fine. There was just a bruise but his leg should be clear by the end of next week. It was good of you to bring him in when you did."

"And his head, there's no concussion? He's going to be okay?"

"He'll be just fine. If you'll excuse me for a minute I have just one other thing to do. Are you going to be all right Dylan?"

The boy nodded uncomfortably, still being crushed under the bosom of his mother.

She stepped out of the room and leaned up against the wall by the door. Then she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath then exhaling long and slow. It had been a very long and tiring day and it was just past three o'clock in the afternoon. Her feet were aching but they didn't bother her so much that she wanted to do anything about it. As long as she kept moving then they didn't hurt too badly. What she wanted more than anything was to go home and see his smile. He'd hinted earlier before she left for work that he had something of a treat for her when she got back. _If I ever do get back, the way things are going now it doesn't look likely that it'll happen any time soon._

She'd heard of people being called into work and not leaving for up to days later. Any other day she wouldn't have minded having to stay so late or for days at a time but today was special. It was her birthday for Merlin's sake! A taller figure leaned on the wall space next to her and sighed. Hermione popped her eyes open and stood up straight then nervously bit her lip. "I'm not in trouble for slacking am I? I was just taking a little breather."

Richard turned to face her. "No, that's fine. I do the same thing every now and again. Long days are the worst but they are satisfying if you get to send plenty of people back home. Have you been here long?"

"It depends on what your definition of long is. I got in at six this morning and I've been here ever since without so much as a break. Well, except for the one you just caught me on." He handed her a cup of coffee from the break room and she took it graciously. Hermione was used to waking up early but she wasn't used to being up on her feet and running about the hallways as fast as she could. She'd been paged over a dozen times today for emergencies but this was what she had signed up for. If she couldn't handle this as a trainee Healer then they would never elect to keep her, which meant she wouldn't get access to the research files in the back. The files she so desperately wanted to read and study were restricted access only and they were the only way to figure out if there was a way to remove Draco's scar from his Dark Mark. She sipped the coffee and moaned in gratification. "It's delicious. I needed this more than you know."

"Six o'clock in the morning? How unfortunate. I didn't get in until eight. I haven't had to come in at that time for a long while but since no one's passed the exam for the ground floor in a long time I suppose that's why I come in later now. How are you feeling?"

She thought about it and smiled out the side of her mouth. "I'm doing okay. Since you're here, does that mean I get to go home soon?"

He scrunched up his face in thought. "Not necessarily. Why, what's your rush? Oh, wait it's your birthday today isn't it?" When she nodded to confirm he bit his finger out of guilt. "Damn, I'm sorry I forgot. It's been a very busy few weeks for me you know."

Hermione waved it off and gave him her empty cup. "That's okay. It's been busy for me too. I would have forgotten myself if Draco didn't remind me this morning. He woke up just be the first person to tell me 'happy birthday.' It was unnecessary because he's been the only person so far to do it. I haven't gotten the chance to tell anyone here."

"Hey," he said abruptly looking straight into her eyes.

His sharp tone took her by surprise. "What is it?"

"Happy birthday, Granger." It came out like only she should know that he was saying.

Hermione's blush spread from her cheeks and went right across her nose. "I, well that is, I mean um… thank you."

"You can go now if you want. I can cover your tracks." He straightened his back and put his hands in the pockets of his robe. "Shouldn't be cooped on here, should you? Birthdays only come once a year after all."

"Oh no, I couldn't! I can finish the day at least. I don't want to get you in trouble with anyone. It can wait." He was honestly offering to help her. Why was he offering to favor her in such a giant way?

"Hermione, I'm the Healer-in-Charge. That makes me the boss of the whole floor and I am directly ordering you to pack up and go home." It was supposed to be an order but he said it with a crooked smile on his face. "Think of it as my present to you since I can't take you out myself."

Hermione eyed him suspiciously but played along and brought her hand to her forehead in a salute. "Yes sir, Mr. Tanaka."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

"You actually expect me to get on that thing?"

Draco took her hand and kissed it. "Yes I do. I don't understand why this is such a problem for you."

"You don't have to understand. Just respect my decision and leave in alone. I am _not_getting on that thing now or ever."

He had taken her to the newly constructed quidditch pitch available to the public of all magic persons that he paid to have built a few months ago. Wizards and witches from all over could just come here and play quidditch unprofessionally. There was also an area specifically designed just for flying around with your broom and nothing else. It even had a kid's area and toy brooms for rent. It reminded Hermione of an ice rink except the activities were in the air. Now he expected her to get on a broom and ride it. He could have asked her for anything else in the world and she would be game but not for this, never for this.

"You're out of your mind. I hate flying. It always frightens me within an inch of my life. I'd much rather get in an airplane where there's an inside to get into. Seeing the entire world around me as I flash through the air, constantly reminding me that I could fall and die at any moment is not my idea of a good time. It's not happening."

Draco was astounded. It was unbelievable that this girl was afraid of anything. To find out that she hated something as simple and as wonderful as getting on a broomstick and flying just set him back a little bit. "You don't like flying? Are you joking?"

"I could ask you the same question. But no, I never joke about this. Can you please, please pick something else for us to do? It is my birthday after all." She really didn't want to do this. There was a special place in her heart where she reserved her fear and hatred of leaving the ground on a stick and some straw. It was just so atypical: she was a witch so she had to fly on a broom. No way, not in this lifetime.

He tried to pull her a little closer to the broom that was only a few feet in front of her but with no such luck. She would not budge forward. "We don't have to go very high from the ground. How about you get on the same broom as I do and then you can just hang onto me. I'm not going to let you fall."

"That may be true but that doesn't mean you won't fall on your own. And if I'm hanging on with you then I'll fall as a result. It's too dangerous." There was nothing he could say to convince her to get on that broom. "I'd rather not die on my birthday, thank you very much."

Draco laughed at her poor attempt to brush this off. He wasn't going to give up on her about this. Flying was one of the best things about being magic in the first place. Why she wouldn't want to take advantage of that was beyond him. "Okay, you're being a little ridiculous. What's the underlying issue here?"

"There is no _underlying issue._ Don't belittle me with your psychobabble. I have simply never been a fan of flying. Why should I start now?"

"Because it is your nineteenth birthday and you can count the number of times you've been on a broomstick. Don't you want to see what it's like?" Her logic was so completely flawed. And then it hit him: what if it was because of Potter? "Oh, I know what your problem is."

"Please, do share your findings," she spat out rolling her eyes.

"It's because every time your little boyfriend gets on a broom to play quidditch he falls off. Granger, don't base your flying experience on Potter's inability to stay in the air. The rest of us are very fair flyers."

The ridiculousness of his words made her jaw drop. Was he being serious? "Don't be absurd! Harry is an excellent flyer, he just has terrible luck."

"Terrible luck, eh? Is that why the first game of every year he falls off his broom and ends up in the hospital wing whining to Madame Pomfrey that his leg is broken or that he's missing a few bones? Come on Hermione. Do this for me."

_Is he actually begging?_ He was. His request came out in the form of an order but he really wanted her to do this with him. He showed her a different side of him each time they went out. It was refreshing and his want for her to enjoy something with him was endearing, but that didn't change the fact that she was afraid. "This isn't going to go away, is it?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to bug you about this forever until you just let it happen."

She let her crossed arms fall to her side and exhaled roughly. "I suppose I might as well try it then."

Draco grinned and mounted the broom. It was an easygoing model: the Cleansweep Seven. Old compared to what was available in the market now, but for a first timer it would be perfect. He waved her over and watched patiently as she staggered her way closer to him.

She was nearly there when she had a sudden change of heart. "I change my mind! I can't do this. There was a boy today under my care and he was seriously hurt from falling off of his broom and he didn't even fall from that high! That's not a risk I'm willing to take." This was all too much pressure. Why did he want her to board the bloody thing anyway? She'd gone years without getting on a broom and she was adamant about keeping it that way. The last time she flew she was on a dragon and before that it was a thestral, which she couldn't even see. Animals were a bit safer because she had a lot more to hang on to. But a broom was precisely that: just a stick! If she lost her concentration while riding an animal she would not fall to her death because the animal gains an extent of control. If she lost control of the broom then she was done for. Why couldn't he understand that?

Draco heaved a sigh and dropped the broom. "Is it really that scary for you?"

"Yes it just happens to be that scary for me. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mock me for it either." Hermione crossed her arms again and huffed.

"This is important to me, Hermione. There's something that I want you to see and it would be loads more fun to see it from the sky than on the ground." He sounded disappointed, sad almost.

It was completely unfair of him to make her the bad guy. "Are they… fireworks? I'm totally content with viewing fireworks from the ground."

"No, it's not a fireworks display. It's just– you know what? Forget it. We can see it from the ground. Come with me." He took her by the hand and walked with a quickened pace to the middle of the very large arena. There was a soft blue blanket laid out on the grass. Draco hurried her over to it and sat down next to her. He laid his back down and looked at her when she didn't do the same. "Well?"

This was turning out to be a very bossy birthday indeed. "Well, what?"

Draco scoffed. Wasn't it obvious what he wanted her to do? She was smart, attractive and witty but so incredibly difficult. "Lie down with me."

She arched her brow and tried her hide her blush but followed his command nonetheless. The evening sky looked beautiful as the stars were overcoming the sunset. A few flyers were still circling the pit and Hermione couldn't help but take notice of them. Each person was flying on the same type and color broom and the straw tails were all glowing several different colors. After a while the flyers began flying in a pattern, swirling and swooping throughout the air and Hermione took notice that the colors that illuminated their tails were leaving tracks. The tracks soon turned into letters and the letters turned to words. Before long a multicolored message lit up the sky and the words took Hermione completely by surprise. They were addressed to her. "I L-O-V-E Y-O-U."

The flyers descended and Hermione was caught in a trance, hoping the men simply meant to do "happy birthday" instead of what it said now. When Draco didn't complain a mistake had been made she could feel her heart sink into her gut. She turned her head and found he was staring directly into her eyes. "Do… do you really mean that?"

"Yeah, I really do mean it." Draco scooted closer to her until his lips found hers. They were still lying down but now they were alone. The arena was closed but since he practically owned it, it didn't matter if he was still there. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer and kept his gaze locked with hers.

"Draco, I… I just…" Could she really say it back? Did she have the right to? To this day, Hermione had only ever said those words to her parents and her friends but only in a strictly platonic matter. How was she supposed to convey exactly how she felt about this person in just a few simple words? He had gone all out just to tell her how he felt and she didn't think it came cheap the way he did it. It wasn't that she didn't feel the same; she just wasn't prepared to say it. She thought about it all the time these days but the coward in her was preventing her from doing anything about it. The Gryffindor in her frowned at her ability to be so intimidated. _They're just a few words! I'm sure he's never told anyone he's loved them either but he found a way to say it to me. The least I could do is thank him. But I don't want to just thank him; I want to say it back. Why can't I say it back? Say it back Granger!Come on you can do this. You've done harder things than this, right?_

"Hermione?" he called her name after seeing how lost in her own world she was. Her distraction was evident in her eyes. "Did you hear me?" he asked as he was getting on his feet.

"Huh? What?" _How embarrassing. He was just talking to me._

"I said do you want to go home now? It's getting dark and I still have the rest of your gift to give to you."

She shot up and looked at him unbelievingly. "There's more?!" _He's acting like I didn't just unintentionally ignore his "I love you." Shouldn't this be a big deal?_

He helped her up and chuckled. "You don't have to act so surprised. Why wouldn't there be more?"

"Well that is, I mean I didn't take you as the type of person who took birthdays so seriously." Their hands were entwined still but she didn't mind. It was nice holding hands with him.

"I don't take birthdays so seriously. Just yours, love."

_There he said it again! Has he lost his mind?_

* * *

Her eyes were closed tight and her eyes were placed over them. He'd made her promise that she wouldn't peak until he said it was okay no matter what. Why he had to be so mysterious all the time she was sure she'd never know. Now she was waiting for him to get something together while she stood in the middle of the bedroom for her "big surprise."

Each second she had to wait was a second she thought this was a bad idea. He was being secretive again, and that made her nervous to no ends. She had no idea how cautious she should act now because his plans were yet to be revealed. For all she knew he could be planning to kill her right now. It sounded ridiculous even in her head but it was a possibility however small.

Hermione was beginning to grow anxious._What is taking him so long?_ "What are you doing, Draco?"

"One second more," he called from the living room. "You can be patient."

"Me being patient flew out the window five minutes ago. I'm going to open my eyes!"

"Oh, stop being such a child." Draco returned to the room and closed the door before walking up to Hermione and uncovering her hands from her eyes. "Keep them closed; I just want your hands out of the way."

His index finger traced the base of her neck and she felt something slip down around her collar bone and hang at her bosom. It was a necklace, she knew that much now for sure. It felt cold on her body but she didn't mind. The boy had gone and gotten her jewelry as her present. _This is too much. Why on earth is he being so nice?_

Draco put his arms under her breasts and hugged her from behind. "You can open them now, Granger." His cool words tingled in her ear and she shivered involuntarily.

She popped her eyes open and looked down. There was a skeleton key made from what looked like diamonds hanging from a silver chain. The key stopped at the tip of her cleavage and two small sapphire gems sparkled brightly at the base and another two on the rungs of it. It was gorgeous and mesmerizing.

Hermione turned around in his arms and searched his eyes for answers. "What's this, they key to your heart?"

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "It is if you want it to be. I saw it and I thought of you. I figured you might like it. Happy birthday, Granger," he kissed her nose and smirked shyly. "The chain's a little thin but it's real silver. It's also charmed to never break or lose its original shine. Do you like it?"

Hermione couldn't find the words to thank him. She nodded as a tear began to form in her eye. She hadn't even known she was a fan of jewelry until she saw how lovely it looked around her neck, how lovely it felt to be in his arms. She had never felt this way about anyone before and she couldn't bear to hold it in for much longer. He was so thoughtful and charming, and it was then that she knew she couldn't afford to not say those words to him. "I love you too, Draco."

He pulled her into a greedy kiss and she let his hands roam desperately all over her body. In that moment she wanted him just as much as he wanted her, and she couldn't deny it any longer. The heart in her chest was beating so quickly that she failed to notice they were already lying on the bed on their sides, still wrapped in each other's arms and snogging like there'd be no tomorrow. It felt simply magical the way his tongue collided with hers and tastefully licked her lips. He bit them lightly until they were plump and pink before voyaging back into her mouth.

His hand was settled as the base of her bottom and every other instant he would squeeze, making Hermione wish he would do more with his fingers than tease her arse. And as if he read her mind he was pulling on the upper edge of her sleeveless, strapless top. Within a flash it was around the base of her tummy and he was working on the button and zipper of her jeans all while still fondling her mouth with his tongue.

Hermione's soft moans were driving him over the edge, but he couldn't get her pants off any faster. She was pushing her shirt further down her legs and kicked it and her pants down off her ankles. He pulled away from her mouth to truly admire how wonderful she was half-naked. Seeing her clad in a white bra and tight panties made him want to plow into her right then and there. But he had to wait no matter how delicious she looked. It was still her first time and he wanted to do it the right way so she'd never forget it. Her hands were gripping the sheets beside her and her breathing was heavy from the intensity of which they were just kissing. This girl would be the death of him and before he died he was going to make her feel incredible.

He took a finger and slid her knickers down her legs very slowly. Draco could smell her arousal as soon as they were further down her thighs and cursed himself for not being kinder to her in their childhood. If he had been then they would have fallen in love much sooner and that was all the sooner that he could have had her. It smelled so sweet and tangy that he could hardly keep his control. He climbed on top of her and swiftly unhooked her bra then snatched it away and let it fall to the floor, revealing her full perky breasts and her small pink nipples. They were _so_ fucking perfect. He wasted no time taking his tongue and running it around her areola in a spiral until her left nipple was in his mouth. He suckled it gently at first while rubbing her other back and forth in between his thumb and forefinger. Occasionally he would take her whole breast in his hand and caress it adoringly, groaning deeply and with such glee as he sucked on her other breast.

Hermione tried her hardest not to be too vocal and bit her lip so roughly that it was turning as red as rouge. Everything he did to her felt so bloody good and she could hardly wait any longer for what was in store. Each moan she let out was more passionate than the last. Her hands travelled from the sheets to the hair on his head and she aggressively pulled at it, communicating to him how afflicted he was making her feel.

Draco didn't mind her taking out her pleasure on his hair because he knew he was doing such a damn good job. He wanted to make this girl scream but she was still holding back. _I'll just have to fix that now, won't I?_

His head went down in between her legs and moaned playfully into her clit. He was going to make her let go if it was the last thing he did.

She wasn't sure how much longer she was going to last but she knew she was done for when he started licking the outer walls of her center. She gasped in delight before putting a hand over her mouth and moaning into it fiercely. It was tortuous and so pleasant all at the same time. His tongue was slipping in and out of her core and as it wiggled around inside of her she began to write on the bed wildly. Why had she deprived herself of this for so long when it felt so marvelous? She felt like her whole body was on fire and the drips of sweat on her forehead only proved as much. It only got better when his finger ventured deep inside of her folds and she sighed out his name repeatedly.

Draco put another finger in for good measure, enjoying the sticky juices that were endlessly flowing out of her. He had been unaware that a girl could be this wet and still so perfectly tight. Her reactions were so desirous it made him want to try even more to please her. But he still couldn't help the sarcastic comment hanging on the tip of his tongue. "Having fun, Granger?" he knew she was but she just had to ask.

"Shut it, Malfoy," she said between gasps. Nothing was going to spoil this for her, not even his deep throated chuckle at her response.

He licked her clit up and down while still plunging his two fingers inside of her. Draco felt as if he could do no wrong by the way her sweet voice echoed throughout the room. He wondered if they had gotten along from the start, would they have been doing this all along instead of bickering. Maybe not all along but perhaps in their fifth or sixth year; it was a silly thought but he couldn't help but ponder on it.

"Draco, please." Hermione couldn't do this anymore. She knew these things were supposed to go slow on your first time but he had been playing around down there for ten minutes and she was soiling the sheets. It was arousing and embarrassing at the same time.

"Is that an order, Granger?" He might have been pressing his luck with all his playful banter but he wouldn't be Draco Malfoy if he didn't tease her a little.

"Yes! Yes, Draco it's an order! Please just take me now," she whined out.

The feel of her sweat drenched skin told him just how ready she was to receive him. He climbed back on top of her after taking off his trousers and his shirt, revealing his abs and toned muscles to her at last. He was every woman's dream with how good he looked naked. Of course the only people that knew this were her and Ella, and Hermione would be damned if that woman ever got the chance to see it again. Draco was all hers now.

"Are you still sure about this? You only get one chance to decide now. I don't want to be the man who ruined your first time, Granger."

"The only way you could ruin it now is if you stop." She sounded so confident and so certain. There was no way that this was a mistake. "I love you, Draco."

His storm grey eyes met her brown ones and he placed several more kisses on her lips and cheeks before he lowered his body onto hers.

Each kiss was so warm and enthusiastic. The reality of the situation his Hermione hard and she realized that she was more than just in love with this man. She wanted him to be hers and only hers.

He was using his arms to stay lifted on both sides of her and he told her to hold on to them and squeeze very firmly. "This is going to hurt but I'll be as care as I can, all right?"

She nodded quickly and closed her eyes. Her hands took hold of his arms and she gripped them tight. He kissed her lips one more time before taking his rock hard member and thrusting it absolutely into her tight wet puss. Draco stopped there and let her feel all of him. Her single cry pierced his ears but it wasn't enough to make him want to pull out. Then he saw the tears flowing down the sides of her face.

"Do you want me to stop?" he said in a panic. She was actually crying from the pain _he'd _caused her.

"No, no don't. It's… okay. I'm going to be okay."

She didn't sound sad but he was still doubtful that he should proceed. "Do you want me to continue?"

"Please, Draco… don't stop," she was practically pleading him to go on and he kissed her more and more to make up for what he thought was too much for her.

He took his length out to some extent until he could feel that just his tip was inside of her and slowly lunged back inside gradually. Her tears stopped flowing and she was moaning in ecstasy again, so he saw fit to drive it even further and a little harder.

She'd never felt anything so sensational before. Her mouth opened fully and she happily let out all her gleeful bellows. The momentum of his cock pulling in and out of her was nothing less than extraordinary. Every inch of his member was inside of her; it was magnificent and breathtaking. Her breath hiked spontaneously and she let go of the tight feeling in her stomach while naturally contracting her muscles and she met his thrusts in unison. Her back was arched up at each plunge and finally, explicitly, and undoubtedly she felt her whole body thrive all at once as she submitted to her orgasm.

Hermione's hands went to scrape gratefully at Draco's back. She held on almost urgently to his backside as he poured his thick elixir inside of her and fought for her breath when he let himself fall on top of her, placing his head into the nook of her neck.

This was what heaven was like. They were both unmistakably certain of this.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

_**September 20**__**th**_

Never before in her life had Hermione been so sore. Her love making experience with Draco last night left her wanting more, and after a few moments of rest and a lovely back rub from her to him, he happily obliged her. Each time she thought of what happened a pleasant feeling rumbled in her gut and a naughty blush graced her face. It made focusing at work difficult for her which was a new challenge all together. She forced herself not to count the hours until she got to go home and hold him again but it was hard. Her mind was determined to make her lose her job with all the very vivid images of his physique and the purely beautiful memory of they felt against each other. If it hadn't been last night it was official now: her virginity was a thing of the past.

As a result, Richard had to snap her back into reality more times than she would have liked to admit. It was awful curious; the things that love could do to you when you weren't paying attention. Her mind continued to surround itself in her musings of the night before when she was supposed to be mending the many injuries of a cauldron explosion. She was just barely there. Hermione could do little but recall the several times she screamed out his name without a care in the world. They had such a beautiful thing together and nothing was going to convince her otherwise.

Now Hermione had it all. Her friends weren't bickering, she wasn't bickering with her friends, and she had a spectacular boyfriend who didn't hesitate to send her bouquets of flowers while she worked. Sitting at the reception desk was a divine collection of lilacs and baby's breath. The scent drove Hermione positively wild and made her wish the time would go by that much faster. Every single thing around her looked different. It all felt so surreal. It wasn't until she saw a woman that lived in her building assigned to her that she regained all that lost focus.

Mrs. MacDougal was a very kind and composed lady at the brim of her old age. She needed very thick glasses to see anything near or far and Hermione figured it wasn't long before she lost her vision completely. However there were a few things that Mrs. Peggy MacDougal would not agree to, being an old-fashioned person. One of those things was any kind of altercations or cosmetic changes to her body even if it was for her own benefit. "I am as I was made. I'm old, my dear. If my body is falling apart then that is a sign it's time for me to go." It was her catch phrase and she would repeat it should anyone ask why she didn't just see a Healer for her eyes.

The reason why she was admitted to St. Mungo's today was not her vision, but the spreading blackness from her ankle up to her knee. The poor woman's leg was now covered in what looked to be the effects of a spell gone wrong. She was seated in a chair that would allow her leg to be hoisted up for examination. Before the curse could spread anymore, Hermione rushed to her side and started asking Mrs. MacDougal exactly what had gone on.

"Oh, dearie you know it's nothing that wasn't out of my control. I had a hard time reaching for my glasses this morning off the bedside table you know. I was reaching for it and I thought I should get up in a hurry so I could see my way into the kitchen for breakfast but my wand was next to them and it fell on the floor. I got my glasses in my hand and when I was getting out of bed to reach my wand off of the floor, my foot went and stepped right in the middle of my wand. Now, you see my leg was still feeling a little sore from playing shuffleboard with my neighbors across the hall last night. They're such a nice couple. Muggles, they are but the nicest married couple you will find this side of London. Anyway I decided to give myself a nice fix up with a healing charm but my wand was incapacitated enough that it only made my leg worse! And that was when I noticed this blackness around my ankle. By the time I got here to you, it had already spread this far. Is there anything you can do to fix it, dearie? It is rather painful. Nothing too excruciating but I'd like it to be back to normal, if you please."

_Her wand must have backfired after breaking. What a tragic tale. She must not know the severity of her injury. _Hermione touched the woman's cursed leg and found that it uncommonly cold and clammy. She called Richard in the room and asked him for her help in order to change the state of Mrs. MacDougal's condition.

Richard gave Mrs. MacDougal a liquid tonic for the pain and ordered her to drink it. Once she swallowed it down to the last drop, Hermione and Richard cast the healing incantation together until the blackness was contained around the base of her leg.

"I'm going to have to take it from here," proclaimed Richard to Hermione. "It's going to take a lot and I don't want you to use all of your energy on this. Can you go next door and check on my patient? He should be all right to be discharged but I want to make sure he'll be okay."

Hermione was hesitant to leave. This was her neighbor after all, and she didn't want to go thinking that she could be of no further help.

Mrs. MacDougal waved her away and insisted that she would be fine. "You've done wonderfully, dear. I'm sure this nice handsome man will fix me up just fine. Don't you worry about me and do as you're told." She continued to be a motherly type figure even in the event of serious pain. "Oh, but before you go dearie, could you reach into that handbag there and pull out my white wallet? Be a lamb and hand it to me please?"

Hermione gave the old woman her wallet and watched in with certain numbness as she pulled out an item Hermione was sure she'd never see again. It was the long lost key to her apartment and Mrs. MacDougal was giving it to her. "Wh-what? I mean, where… Mrs. MacDougal is this yours or mine?"

"Oh, well I figured it's yours dear, seeing as how your flat number is there on the top part. You live in 206 don't you? Anyway I found that on the ground in the lobby quite a few weeks ago and I kept forgetting about it. I'm old, you know dearie and I'm afraid my mind is not what it used to be. I have been meaning to give it back but whenever I knocked on the door to your place, you were never there. I assumed you were here just curing everyone and everything in sight."

Hermione nodded, completely traumatized. This was unbelievable. "Thank you, Mrs. MacDougal. I really, really appreciate this." She said that but she really only felt stupefied. Her key had been with Mrs. MacDougal this entire time. She looked as though she had seen a ghost but walked to the next room to discharge Richard's patient.

* * *

She was at a loss, sitting on the couch in the living room and staring off into space. Not just a loss but at a terrible crossroad. Hermione could tell Draco now about her key being found, or she could never reveal it to anyone and continue staying with him at what was now known as their place. Would he let her stay there still? The ideal situation would be her telling him and him not caring but just making more room for the things in her apartment she was tired of living without but did not want to buy and replace, and then she could cancel her lease across the hall and they'd just continue on as they were. But what were the odds of that actually happening?

It was unlikely that he should want her to clear out her things and leave. He'd just admitted last night that he loved her and what sensible person would want to let that go? If she stayed, which she had every intention of doing so pending his reaction, they'd be sharing the same bed every night would they not? _This is absurd and I'm being selfish. I should go up to him and say, _"I found the key to my flat." _There, that wasn't so hard. Now all I have to do is actually say it to him._

"Oh, did you?" Draco stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind him. He kissed her cheek and retrieved the post from his owl. "Where did you find it? I knew it wasn't _lost in the space-time continuum_, whatever the bloody hell that is."

His entranced had completely startled her. This was the first time in a long while that she actually got home before he did. "What are you doing home so early?" she asked excitedly.

"I could ask you the same question," he said in an absentminded manner. He sat down next to her and sorted through the mail. There was another letter from his mother which he had no intention of reading, something from Pansy which he would also ignore, and a letter for Hermione from a Richard Tanaka. _Who the hell is that?_

"Richard sent me home because he thought I was feeling too distracted to work. To make up for it I have to go in much earlier tomorrow than usual. It's okay. I'm not in trouble or anything. I just wasn't at my best today."

Draco arched his eyebrow. "Is that my fault?" Her blush was is answer. "Who the hell is this Richard person you keep talking about?"

"I keep telling you, Draco. He's my boss. Stop acting so jealous."

He was insulted. She actually thought he was _jealous?_ Him? "If I'm jealous then you're barking mad. I'm not jealous. You just keep talking about him and bringing him up. It's annoying." His façade was fooling no one, not even himself.

She shrugged it off and let him have his ego. When it came to Draco, it was sometimes better to sacrifice the smaller battles and go all out to win the war. "Anything for me?" He said nothing but just handed it to her. Hermione took one look at the name on the outside envelope and put the letter aside. "I'll open it later."

"No, no. There are no secrets, dear Granger. Open it now, right here in front of me. If you've done nothing wrong you should have nothing to hide." He wasn't serious but she looked seriously insulted by his faux accusation.

"You must be joking."

He kissed her cheek again before her temper flared and he was in serious trouble. "Calm down, Hermione. I didn't mean any harm by it. You aren't going to move out and leave me because of a joke, are you?"

Hermione shook her head and rested it on his shoulder. "Relax, it's just a card from Richard. Probably happy birthday. Although, that's what I should do if you're going to be so mean to me from now on."

"Do you mean that?"

"Not right now. I should keep it just in case though. Like if I don't feel like being around you and your massive ego."

"You didn't seem to mind my massive ego last night."

"Oh, shut it," she exclaimed, impishly slapping his chest. You'll never guess where this was," she said as she held up the key to her apartment in his line of sight. "A resident downstairs found it and picked it then held it hostage all this time because she kept forgetting to return it. And then when she did try and return it I was here with you!"

Draco stared the key down with mild interest. "What are we going to do with it? Your place, I mean."

Hermione shrugged nonchalantly. "I say we keep it until we leave the building all together. This place is nice but I don't want to be here forever. I want my own house one day."

"Sounds like a plan, but if you want to get the rest of your things and move them in here we should start now before I decide not to help you."

"No, I don't fell like doing anything right now. Let's just relax for a while."

The two made plans to get the rest of her things over later. Right now all he wanted was to lie next to her in bed and run his hands all over her body. But he mostly just wanted to lie in bed. It had been a good month since he last slept in it before last night, and he had almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to sleep there. It was even better now that they were Granger-scented in the best way possible.

He told her one day they'd get a bigger place "just in case" they needed more room one day. She told him that was fine as long it wasn't someday too soon.

"I have my whole career ahead of me, you know. I can't have messing up and getting me pregnant along with Ginny just because you're lonely after the three hours of work you have daily, while some of us actually have to put effort into our occupation."

He ignored her snide comment and pulled her into his reach on the bed and circled her naval with his finger. Every time they touched she seemed even smoother and softer than the last. She was additive and he knew he'd never grow tired of her. That was the truth, plain and simple.


	28. Epilogue

Epilogue

**_Nine Months Later_**

Draco was sitting on the couch in the living room and examining this new thing Hermione had brought home. She called it a television and claimed that it wasn't new to the world, he was just unaware of its existence because he hadn't been allowed to use muggle things before. Draco didn't think it was fair of her to make an assumption like that but she was right. There were no muggle contraptions in his house growing up, just a huge library filled with books only by magic folk.

The television came with an odd black box and she told him last night that he was to use the box to control it but he wasn't feeling up to experimentation. It made him feel stupid though. He grabbed the box off of the coffee table and pushed the green button. The screen lit up and people began to talk. They weren't talking to Draco, but to each other. It was like a photograph in the newspaper or a magical portrait. He was entranced by the televisions power. Hermione called the people in the telly actors and she said they acted in programs for entertainment, well Draco was very amused by all of it. He was just getting used to it and clicking around the different stations available but Hermione burst in the door and dragged him into the bedroom.

"Bloody hell, Granger. I was doing something! I know you find me irresistible and all but you could at least ask to make sure I even want to."

She threw clothes at him from their closet and ignored his ridiculous comment. "Put those on and hurry up. Ginny's having the baby and we're going to the hospital!"

Draco stared at her as she sorted through their drawers to find him a pair of socks that matched then threw those at him as well. "Weaselette is having her baby?"

Hermione was running around the room and looking for something. When she found it, she put it in a box and started wrapping it with gift wrap. She looked up and saw that he wasn't changing his clothes. "What are you doing? Put those on I said. Come on, we're in a hurry. I don't want to miss anything!"

Draco gave her a strange look and sat down on the bed. "What exactly does the Weasel's sister giving birth have to do with me again?"

Hermione looked at him longingly and slouched. "Draco, she's my best friend and I would like to be there for the birth of her child. So if you would please just get dressed it would mean so much to me." She set the gift on the bed and stood up.

"Can't we just send her a congratulatory owl and be on our way? I don't fancy going to the hospital and sitting in the visitor's lounge with a room full of Weasleys while they glare at me and wonder why I'm even there. Just go without me."

"Don't do this to me, Draco," she frowned. "They aren't going to glare at you and they won't wonder why you're there. It's been months and they're used to us being together. Frankly, Mrs. Weasley's a little hurt that you still haven't showed up for Sunday dinner. They're going to think you don't like them at all if you don't show up for this."

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Well I'm not exactly fond of all of them. What if he tries to hit me or something?" It was a lousy excuse but he really only wanted to go back to his television surfing. "You can go without me, can't you?"

"You really don't want to share this moment of extreme happiness with me?" She wanted him to come and if guilt tripping him was the only way then so be it. "I want us to go together so we can see Ginny and Neville's baby. We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl and I really want to find out. Please get dressed."

He didn't move and he didn't speak. The longer their staring exchange went on, the more uncomfortable he felt. She was obviously really serious about this but he just didn't feel like being around a bunch of people that hated him.

Hermione scoffed and picked up the gift. "You're such a coward," she said venomously before disapparating from the other room.

* * *

The visitor's lounge was on the fifth floor and down the hall from the room where Hermione had taken the test to become a trainee Healer. In three months she would be interviewed by the hospital board and promoted if they liked what they saw. Her title would still be the same but there would be an increase in pay, so it was really more of a fancy raise.

When she arrived a sea of red hair gave her friendly greetings and filled her in on what was going on now. Ginny was in labor now and Neville was down on the second floor with her. The boys and Fleur were all waiting to see who would win the pool on the gender, Molly and Arthur were waiting in the corner very nervously, and Bay was drinking a cup of tea by the gift shop with Harry. Hermione went over to them and asked Bay to give them a moment of privacy, then watched as she walked away and went over to Ron's arm.

"All right, Harry?" She sat down and looked at him sympathetically. The expression on his face was unreadable.

He sighed. "I'm fine, actually. Nora and I went out last night. She waited for me all this time when I was out at Auror training."

"That's great. What did you tell her you were going away for?" The news that Harry was dating a muggle came as a shock for everyone. It was hard work to keep such a huge secret like that and stay happy in a relationship.

"I told her it was for work," he shrugged. "She knows there are things I can't tell her. I told her a while ago, before I left, that I couldn't tell her everything about me unless I knew that we were serious. She didn't really get it but she knows I'm not cheating on her or anything. She trusts that I'll tell her when the time is right."

"I feel like you aren't taking this seriously enough, Harry. Nora is a muggle. If you two should break up after telling her about us then you'll have to wipe her memory. You could have your wand snapped if you get caught."

Harry chuckled quietly and took a sip of tea. "We're not going to break up, I won't have to wipe her memory, and my wand will not be snapped. Honestly Hermione you worry too much. Ginny's having a baby; you should be celebrating like everyone else. Molly and Arthur look terrible with worry, don't you think?"

"Harry!" she snapped. "What makes you so sure that I have nothing to worry about? What if she gets tired of your secrecy?"

"I know we have nothing to worry about because I told her last week just before I asked her to marry me and she said yes. She hasn't said anything about it to anyone yet so I think I'm okay. She didn't seem to be all that surprised either."

Just then, a flash of white-blonde hair distracted Hermione completely so she didn't have time to react to what he'd just told her. Malfoy was waiting outside the lounge and he looked sorry but still not ready to join their waiting party.

Harry noticed that he had lost Hermione's attention and saw Malfoy teetering by the door. It was made of glass so everyone could see him. "Hermione, you should go get him before he gets lost or leaves..."

She rose out of her seat and furrowed her brow. He actually came?

"Oh wait, Hermione." Harry stood with her and handed her the gift she'd brought.

She muttered her thanks and walked over to him. He was wearing the clothes that she'd picked out for him and wearing a nice pair of shoes as well. He always looked so dashing in whatever he wore but today he looked especially presentable. "I thought you weren't coming."

Draco sighed and put his arm around her shoulders, then whispered in her ear, "You were right and I was wrong. I was being a coward. Now what did we buy them?"

She kissed his cheek and held the box up. "It's a silver rattle from Tiffany's. I had it special delivered here. They don't sell these in the United Kingdom so it came all the way from America. I love you."

"I love you too, Granger."

A woman that Hermione recognized from the second floor came up to them and interrupted their almost snog session. "Are you two with the Weasley party?"

Hermione stepped away from Draco and hurriedly nodded. She asked the woman to hold on before delivering any news and signaled for the Weasleys to come out in the hallway and join them.

The second floor healer smiled at everyone and let her eyes rest on Molly and Arthur. "They're ready for visitors now."

* * *

"Wow," they all gasped.

Neville was standing by the bedside and simply glowing at their approval. They had a baby to show off and he couldn't have been any happier.

Ginny requested a large room for her family. The rule was two visitors at a time ordinarily but that would have taken ages to sort through. Her eyes were half open and she was very much exhausted after just giving birth to the smallest baby Hermione had ever seen.

It was wrapped in a pale yellow blanket and resting peacefully in its mother's arms. Ginny put a hand up to her lips asking them not to be too loud.

"She just dozed off," she whispered.

"Her name is Alice Ginevra Longbottom," Neville said excitedly.

There was a tuft of black hair on her little pink head and she moved around in the blanket like she sensed she was being spoken about. Alice let out a soft little whimper then went back to sleep. All the Weasleys and Hermione cooed at their newest family member, but Draco couldn't take his eyes off the rock on Ginny Weasley's finger.

He pulled Hermione to the side and pointed to her wedding ring. "I thought you told me they weren't getting married."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The ceremony was a month ago, remember? You didn't want to go to that either. It was beautiful. Arthur gave her away and Molly was crying throughout the entire thing and the reception. You really should have been there. It was sweet."

He sucked air through his teeth. "Oh," he said with a little shame. "Well, I'm here now aren't I?"

She forgot her anger and stared some more at little Alice. "She's so small."

"And so pink," Draco added. He watched as Ginny handed the baby to Neville and Molly Weasley started sniffling up in tears. Hermione looked a little emotional too but she didn't seem sad, he noticed. "Hey."

"What is it?"

"Do you want one?"

"One what, Draco?"

He motioned his head towards the baby and waited for her to figure it out.

Hermione tapped her chin in thought. "How about two?"

"How about four?"

"You're barking," she negated. "I don't think four is a very reasonable number."

"Why not? They're just babies."

"Babies grow up to be children, Draco," she scoffed. If there wasn't such an adorable sleeping baby in the room with them she might have pushed him. He was being thick. "Four just doesn't sit very well with me. It's an awful lot, don't you think?"

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the top of her head. "You're right. Two is enough."

"Hmm... How about two and a pet?" she reasoned.

"It's got to be a dog. I've always wanted one."

She rested her head into his chest and watched Alice squirm as she was passed from Neville to Molly. "Deal."

_Fin_.

* * *

AN: Here we are everyone: the very end. It's been quite a journey albeit a very frustrating one when it came to actually finishing this. I invite you all rather enthusiastically to check out my profile where you will find my plans for other stories and a poll every now and again. A friendly reminder though: this is my story and I'm sticking to it just the way it is. I'm sorry if you didn't like it but I did and I know plenty of others that did as well. Yeah I might be an "amateur" but oh well, I'm not changing this for anyone because it's my work and I worked hard on it. I love it the way it is, loose ends or not. Cheers.


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